


Unmasked

by Snowish



Series: Dramaturgy [1]
Category: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Super Paper Mario (Game)
Genre: But also, Sibling Arguments, Stabbing, THEY'RE JUST SUCH GOOD BROTHERS OKAY, but like, sibling reconciliation, stabgic?, with magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2018-08-31 01:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 50,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8558080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowish/pseuds/Snowish
Summary: Cover: http://snow-ish.deviantart.com/art/Unmasked-Cover-Index-645811082Magicians are quite various, wouldn't you say? You probably wouldn't be able to pick one out at a glance!Well. Perhaps you might catch onto these, as they all wear masks! Yes, we're speaking of Masked Magicians! As the name implies, their masks are vital to their lives. Removal of one's mask means removal of one's memories and unique abilities, after all!So what happens when one gets a hold of another's mask? Well... Apparently the endangerment of several dimensions.----This fic is now being beta read by cammie-chan64 on tumblr! Thank you so much for the help!





	1. So close, so far

**Author's Note:**

> Psssttt you might wanna read this post over here so you don't get confused:
> 
> http://snow-ish.tumblr.com/post/156948407802
> 
> Yeah it's nonsense bUT IF NINTENDO ISN'T GONNA SAY ANYTHING THEN MIGHT AS WELL.

* * *

 

Another sunny day in the Mushroom Kingdom… Birds chirping, Cheep Cheeps happily splashing in the rivers… Nothing could ruin today!

Nothing, that is, except…

_“ACHOO!”_

The sneeze echoed through the cozy house, making Mario look up from what he was doing. Setting the book down on the coffee table, he quickly made his way to the dining room, where Luigi had been working.

“You alright there?” He asked.

Luigi, surprised that Mario had come to check on him so quickly, took a moment to respond.

“Of course, Mario! Just a little, uh… Dust! That’s all!” He chucked unconvincingly. “I was just looking around, and found we’re low on stuff like tape and glue. Guess the drawers were a bit musty. But uh, hey, I was just about to head out to Toad Town to get some more… Wanna come with?”

Mario folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. Despite Luigi’s assurance, the taller brother’s face looked a bit flushed, and had been sneezing all day.

“Luigi, I think what you need is some bed rest! We can go a day or two without that stuff, so just settle down.”

Luigi frowned. He always acted like this when he was getting sick. He was determined not to seem weak (which Mario would always tell him he was not), so he always pushed himself even harder during times like these.

“But Mario, even if I am sick, it’s just a weensy cold! Nothing to worry about, alright? I can handle a simple shopping trip and back!”

“If you really want to get that stuff, I’ll go do it!” Mario replied. “I just don’t want you to-”

_**Ding-ding! Ding-ding!** _

The doorbell suddenly rang, startling the squabbling twins. The two hurried over to the front door, opening it wide to see who was there.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re home!” Their visitor immediately wailed. A short green-shelled Koopa was standing on the porch, wringing her hands worriedly.

“I don’t mean to bother you on such a calm day, but I have a bit of an environmental emergency on my hands and… Well, you live nearby, so I thought it’d be okay to ask. It… It is okay, right?”

“It’s no problem!” Luigi assured her, standing up tall with a slight puff of his chest. “We’re happy to help anyone in the Kingdom!” Mario nodded with a welcoming smile.

“Oh, well… The task isn’t that big, so only one of you has to help…” The Koopa mumbled.

Taking his chance, Luigi pushed Mario forward, making the red-clad brother stumble in surprise.

“Then why not ask Mario? I was just about to go into town to do something, anyway.”

Mario turned to Luigi and gave him a stern look, but his brother simply shrugged.

“Bro, if I feel any worse, I’ll be sure to get rest. But for now I feel fine, so why waste--” He sneezed again, making the Koopa jump.

“Oh, perhaps it is best I take Mario, then! I don’t want to catch whatever you have! Don’t worry Mario, it’s not that far, I just live on the edge of Shimmer Coast.” She said quickly, taking Mario by the hand and hurrying down the path. Mario managed a quick wave to his brother before the Koopa turned a corner, and they were out of sight.

“Sorry for sounding rude, I’m just… A bit of a germaphobe. I hope your brother doesn’t push himself, though. Whenever I’m sick, I feel like trash once it starts to get worse.” She sighed, letting go of his hand and continuing briskly down the road.

“Well, he shouldn’t be feeling too bad if he’s that confident. But, uh, anyway, what is it you need me to help out with?” Mario asked, trying to match the Koopa’s quick pace.

“Well, you know how we had that terrible thunderstorm a couple of nights ago? It flooded the river by my house, and some Cheep Cheeps spilled over into my garden’s pond. I want to get them back to where they should be, but they’re very agitated about the new environment, and attack me when I get near!” She cried, stopping by a short wooden fence.

Mario looked at the garden they had stopped by, and sure enough, he could see the familiar spherical fish swimming in the decorative pond.

“Shouldn’t be a problem!” He said, giving a thumbs up.

* * *

 

“Hey, Luigi!” Came a cry as the plumber stepped out of the general store. He held a small bag full of the supplies he had purchased, but set them on the ground as a Toad skipped over to him.

“How’re ya doing today? You look a little under the weather.” Plenn T. noted. He looked a lot like other Toads--Bright red spots on his cap, brown shoes, a blue vest--But after a spending a while getting to know everyone, Luigi was soon able to identify each Toad by the sound of their voice alone.

“Yeah, I guess I’m getting a little sick. I think it’s just a minor cold.” He admitted, not letting his annoyance show. He didn’t want everyone to fuss over him.

“But I’m not pushing myself too hard. I just came here to get some stuff, and I’ll be off pretty soon.”

“That’s good. Just be careful that cold doesn’t turn into something worse.” Plenn replied. “Is Mario doing alright? He didn’t come into town, so is he--”

“Oh, he’s not sick, no. He went to go help a neighbor with something.” Luigi assured the Toad. “I might even get back home before him, y’know…” Luigi said, trying to hint that he didn’t want to get held back too long.

“Aww, but I wanted to show you the latest additions to my photo album! I managed to snap a picture of Har T. while he was sleeping, and boy, does-”

“Sorry, Plenn, but--” Luigi was about to excuse himself from the conversation, when he was interrupted.

A flash of bright light appeared next to Plenn and Luigi, making them cover their eyes. The light emitted a strong wave of energy, making his hat slip from his head a bit.

The light didn’t last long, and the two were free to open their eyes again. When they saw who was standing in place of the light, they jumped in surprise.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Did I startle you? I wasn’t aware I was going to arrive in a dimension with…” Before she could finish her sentence, the starry girl fell over, collapsing on the ground.

“Holy smokes!” Plenn said, not wasting any time. He hurried over to the girl and lifted her head up.

“She’s not hurt, thank goodness! But just appearing suddenly.. I don’t know about you, Luigi, but that seems weird…”

“Should I call for somebody?” Luigi asked, not sure what to do.

“Um… I don’t know! I can go get the town doctor, I suppose…” Plenn set the girl’s head back on the ground, but stopped himself before running off.

“Keep an eye on her, will ya?” He managed. Before Luigi could respond, the Toad was running off, calling for the doctor.

* * *

 

“Luigi, I’m back!” Mario called, opening the door. He paused at the threshold, listening for a response, but none came. He frowned, then took a few steps inside.

 _Perhaps he’s in bed_ , Mario thought. _That trip to town must have worn him out._

Mario made his way quietly up the stairs, not wanting to wake his brother up, then slowly pushed open the door to Luigi’s room.

As it usually was, his brother’s room was neat and tidy, with nothing out of place. Mario probably could have taken some pointers from his brother, as his room was almost always in disorder. However, what caught Mario’s attention was that there was nobody in bed.

 _Is he still out in town?_ He thought, closing the door. That seemed to be the only possible answer. _Surely it didn’t take_ that _long to buy something._

 _Perhaps I should go and check on him…_ He paused, looking down at his clothes. They were splattered with water and a bit of mud from his time wrangling the Cheep Cheeps.

 _Once I change clothes, that is._ He conceded. It’s not like anyone would notice--he had several pairs of the same outfit.

* * *

 

“Oh, Mario! There you are!” Luigi called, waving from across the crowd of Toads that had gathered in town. They were clustered around the building that housed the doctor’s office, and seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

“Luigi, what’s going on? And what’s holding you up?” Mario carefully made his way to his brother, confused. All the Toads seemed either agitated or scared about something.

“You mean nobody told you? Somebody just appeared in the middle of Toad Town! Right before our eyes, like magic!” Luigi said with impatience. “In fact, she appeared right in front of me and Plenn T. as we were talking. She collapsed, so the town doctor is looking at her right now, but lots of the Toads are worried she’s dangerous or something.”

“That’s odd.” Mario said, with a look of disbelief. “And it wasn’t a Magikoopa?”

“Of course not, Mario! I know a Magikoopa when I see one!” His brother responded. “She looked like she was made of the night sky!”

“Well, do we really have to stick around? This seems like a situation that can sort itself out.” Mario offered. He wasn’t impatient about getting home, but he was still worried about Luigi’s well-being.

Luigi paused for a moment, fidgeting with his gloves. “Well, when she appeared… She said something that kind of bothered me.”

“What?”

“She said something about ‘arriving in a dimension,’ and that reminded me of…” He trailed off, looking into the open air. A slight frown formed on his face.

Mario, however, understood where Luigi was going. “Oh, I think you’re being a little paranoid. We took care of Dimentio! Besides, given all the people we’ve encountered on our adventures, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more with powers like his.”

“But that’s the thing… If she does have powers like him, can we trust her?” Luigi mumbled.

Mario frowned, folding his arms. Luigi had a bit of a point, but he didn’t want to make his brother worry, especially on top of being sick.

“If it’ll help you feel better, how about we try to talk to her about it?” He suggested, right as the door to the doctor’s office opened.

Almost immediately, the Toads began to shout, begging for some information. The doctor held his hands up, asking for silence, then turned to Luigi.

“You’re the one she appeared before, right? She wants to speak to you and Plenn.” He explained.

Plenn appeared from the crowd and hurried to Luigi’s side. With the doctor’s permission, Mario followed, and the three entered.

The doctor led them to a room full of beds, all of which were empty except for the one closest to the door. In that one sat the girl who had appeared before Luigi and Plenn.

“Ah, there you are.” The girl said when she saw they had arrived. “I wanted to apologize for earlier. I collapsed before I could finish speaking.”

“That’s alright!” Plenn said. “We’re just glad you’re okay now. What made you pass out like that, anyway?”

“That’s what I was going to explain before I fell.” She admitted. “I can travel between dimensions, but it takes a lot of energy out of me… So sometimes I pass out afterwards. I was going to say, ‘I wasn’t aware I was going to arrive in a dimension with such culture.’ It’s been quite a while since I encountered a town like this.” She looked carefully around the pale-colored room.

“Um… Could we ask you something else? If you don’t mind.” Mario said, breaking the silence.

“Huh? I recall the green man and the Toad… But I don’t remember seeing anyone in red.” She commented.

“Oh, well, I’m his older brother.” Mario explained, pointing to Luigi. “Name’s Mario, and he’s Luigi. The Toad there is Plenn T.”

“Oh, we’re exchanging names. Forgive me for not mentioning it earlier, but I am Estelle.” The girl, with her polite way of speaking, gave a small nod of her head. For winding up in a strange town, she seemed awfully calm…

“Er, Estelle, you said you could travel through dimensions… Does the name ‘Dimentio’ ring a bell?” Luigi managed.

Estelle stared at the three for a moment. Without a mouth, it was hard to tell if she was surprised or simply confused. She looked down at her lap, which was covered with bedsheets, and then back to her visitors.

“I’m afraid not. I’m sorry, am I supposed to know that name?” She finally answered.

“N-No, it’s alright that you--Wait, ‘supposed’ to?” Mario frowned.

“Ah, yes… I uh… I feel like I’m missing a great portion of my life. Like there are some things I should know, but don’t. A lot of my past, for instance, is a blank.” She sighed.

“Sounds like some sorta amnesia!” Plenn cried. “Could it be a result of your teleporting?”

Estelle shook her head, making her shimmering hair swirl gently around her.

“No, I’ve had this feeling before I started teleporting around. It’s actually why I’m traveling, honestly. I get the feeling that I might be able to find something that will help me remember.”

“Well,” She added, looking up. “I won’t trouble you with it too much. I’ll probably stick around this dimension for a bit while I look, and then leave. Thank you for helping me out.”

The trio said goodbye, then made their way out of the building. The crowd had thinned out, and the Toads seemed to have calmed down.

“Well, now that that excitement’s over, I think I’m gonna head home. Thanks for your help, Luigi!” Plenn said with a nod. He waved goodbye and walked off, leaving the brothers by themselves.

“Well, did her explanation help?” Mario asked. He looked up at his brother, who had been distracted by his own thoughts.

“Oh, uh, I suppose.” Luigi admitted. “I guess it was a bit silly of me to think she would know Dimentio… Besides, we beat him fair and square! No way he’s gonna come back.”

“Got that right!” Mario agreed. “Come on, let’s head back home. I think you really need to get some rest after all this excitement.”

  
“Yeah… I suppose I have been pushing myself--” Luigi started, but gave a loud sneeze. Rather than scold him, however, Mario simply chuckled.

The two began to make their way through the town square and on the path that led home, when a voice called out.

_“MARIO! LUIGI! WAIT!”_

From up the path came the Koopa from earlier that day, looking like she had run all the way here from her house. When she reached the brothers, she stopped to catch her breath.

“Shimmer Coast… It’s… Giant Blooper! We…” She couldn’t get much more out, as she began to cough. All she did was gesture down the path, desperate that they understand.

Without hesitating, the twins ran down the path, forgetting their plans to relax. If people were in trouble, they were prepared to help out!

* * *

 

“When she said giant Blooper, she wasn’t kidding!” Luigi mumbled.

They had just reached the town of Shimmer Coast, a large area of houses dotted alongside the beach. From the entrance, they could clearly see what the Koopa had been talking about.

Looming over the town was a giant Blooper. While the brothers had run into some big creatures before, this had to be one of the biggest.

The people in town were screaming and trying to run from the Blooper’s tentacles, which had already slammed down on a few buildings. Even when situated on the edge of the beach, the squid still had an impressive range.

“Let’s go!” Mario urged, running down one of the cobblestone roads. Luigi followed, and the two began to make their way to the shore.

The Blooper saw their approach, and flung a tentacle at them with a bellow. Luigi leaped out of the way, clinging to the gutter of a house for a moment, and Mario flipped over the slimy appendage with practiced ease. One the danger was clear, the two reunited and kept running.

No matter how many strikes the Blooper attempted, the brothers hopped nimbly out of the way, sometimes stomping back down on the tentacle and making the Blooper wail in pain.

It wasn’t long before they reached the beach.

“What do we do now?” Mario asked, only slightly winded. Luigi looked up at the squid for a moment, then gave a desperate shrug. Jumping on its arms only seemed to annoy it.

“Is it just me, or does it seem to not care about us anymore?” Luigi finally asked. He gestured to the Blooper, which seemed to be paying attention to something in the town. In fact, the movement of its tentacles now seemed less destructive and more careful. Like it was… Looking for something?

“That does seem odd.” Mario replied. He quickly adjusted his cap, then charged at the Blooper. Maybe a tackle would get its attention!

Luigi followed suit, and the two plumbers charged into the squishy sea creature. The Blooper flinched from the blow, but only gave the two a moment’s glance. A second later, it let out a noise that could only sound like triumph.

The Blooper began to withdraw all of its tentacles but one, which seemed to be holding something. It carefully brought the object down towards the shore, and examined it closely.

“Now’s our chance!” Luigi crouched and held out his hands, signaling to Mario that he was going to boost him up. Mario ran towards his brother, who quickly vaulted him into the air. Mario flew towards the Blooper, feet forward, and landed a kick square between its eyes.

The squid suddenly bellowed and flailed, striking Mario with one of its free tentacles and sweeping Luigi away with another. The Squid seemed ready to retreat into the water when a voice called out, startling the brothers.

“Hey, buddy, calm down!”

A blinding flash of pink light filled the brothers’ vision, throwing them off guard. They covered their eyes and attempted to regain their footing after their falls.

When the light had gone away, the giant Blooper was gone. In its place, a normal-sized Blooper poked out of the water. It seemed rather upset, but looked up at the figure who had just appeared before it.

The figure crouched down so they were closer to the Blooper, then spoke in a gentle voice.

“You alright? Sorry, I didn’t expect you to run into trouble like that. You still got it though, right?”

With a bunch of trills, the Blooper handed the figure something that shone brightly. The figure took it, then patted the Blooper on the head.

“Thanks, little guy. Hope you had fun being huge for a bit.”

With a whistle, the Blooper dove back into the sea, and the figure stood up, chucking to themself.

“Well, that was pretty easy.”

“Wh-Easy?! What are you talking about? The town is trashed!” Luigi cried, helping his brother up. “Just who are you, anyway? Were you the one who made that Blooper big?”

“Huh?” Upon hearing Luigi’s voice, the figure turned towards them, looking surprised. He gave a weak smile and chuckled.

“Howdy, boys. Didn’t think anyone would be reckless enough to charge right at a rampaging Blooper.”

“If you ask me, it didn’t look like it was rampaging. It gave you something!” Mario cried.

“Oh, yeah. This, you mean?” The strange creature opened one of his hands, revealing a small rainbow-colored shard. Upon closer inspection it looked like a… Puzzle piece? Before either of the brothers could get a look at it, the creature withdrew his hand.

“He was doing me a favor. I turned him big for a bit, and he found this for me!” He chuckled, flashing sharp fangs.

“You trashed our _**ENTIRE**_ town just to find some glowy thing?” A roar came from further up the beach. The stranger looked over to see a crowd of angry townsfolk stomping towards him.

“Ah, looks like reinforcements are coming. That’s Fabula’s cue to say… Ciao!” He waved to the brothers before spinning in place, vanishing in a puff of pink smoke.

Luigi frowned at the stranger’s words, but said nothing. Mario noticed his reaction, but directed his attention to the crowd that had arrived.

“Dammit, he left!” A Parakoopa snarled. “I was gonna give him a taste of my ol’ one-two!”

A majority of the crowd grumbled, but went back the way they had come. The only ones who remained were a blue-shelled Koopa with thick glasses and an old-looking Cheep Cheep, who floated in a large bowl beside him. The bowl itself sat on a dolly-like contraption, which allowed movement.

“It can’t be! He stole it!” The Cheep Cheep cried, covering her face with her fins.

“Mario, Luigi, can we have a word with you? It’s of the utmost importance!” The Koopa urged.

The brothers exchanged looks, then walked over to the pair.

“My name is Miss Gills. I am the oldest resident of this town. This is my apprentice, Kyle.” The Cheep Cheep began. “In the Blooper attack, our home was destroyed, and something very important was stolen. You probably saw the Blooper give it to that strange man.”

“You know what that was? I didn’t get a good look at it.” Luigi admitted.

“Yes. It’s a very dangerous object. I must ask you keep the information I am about to tell you secret. The fate of this world depends on it.” Miss Gills replied.

“We know your reputation, but this is very sensitive information, you see.” Kyle urged.

The brothers nodded in unison, and the pair in front of them seemed to tense.

“The object you saw is called a Stability Piece. It is the only one of its kind… In this dimension. Every dimension has one. If a Stability piece were to somehow get taken from its dimension or destroyed…” Miss Gills trailed off, glancing at Kyle.

“The dimension would eventually collapse.” Kyle finished with a grave tone.

“I’m certain the man has left this dimension. That means we do not have much time. Since Kyle and I are the guardians of the Stability Piece, we can use our power to buy some time… But it will not last forever. That’s why we’re asking you to get the Stability Piece back.”

“But Ma’am, the Mario Brothers can’t travel between dimensions!” Kyle suddenly cried, adjusting his glasses. “Is it really wise placing such a mission in their hands?”

Miss Gills sighed before replying.

“Had our home stayed intact, we would have had resources to help you. However… As we said before, it was destroyed. We cannot provide any assistance. Perhaps Kyle is right… I got my hopes up too high…”

“It’s not your fault, Ma’am. The Mario Bros. can do a lot of things… But perhaps this is too complicated.” Kyle mumbled.

Mario, who had been considering accepting, suddenly broke free of his thoughts.

“Actually, I think we do have a way to travel like that.” He said.

Luigi blinked, unsure, then realized what his brother was talking about.

“You mean Estelle? What makes you think she’ll help us?” He asked.

“It’s worth a try. Miss Gills, we’ll take your request. Whatever it takes to save the dimension!” Mario clenched his fists in excitement. Luigi nodded, giving a thumbs up.

“Oh, goodness! Thank you, Mario! Thank you, Luigi!” Kyle cried. “We place all of our faith in you.”

“May no harm befall you on your quest.” Miss Gills said. Kyle then took hold of the handles on the dolly and began to push Miss Gills away, leaving the brothers on the beach.

“Well, let’s go back and see if we can find Estelle.” Luigi said. Mario nodded, and the two hurried off.

* * *

 

“Estelle! Wait!”

The starry girl was about to step out of the town when a cry from behind stopped her. She turned around and saw Mario and Luigi running towards her.

“You two again; Hello.” She said. “Do you need something? I was just about to go looking around.”

“Actually… We kind of do.” Luigi admitted. “Something's happened, and we need your power to travel through dimensions.”

“It’s urgent!” Mario insisted. “You’re our only hope.”

Estelle was silent as they explained what had happened, not sure how to respond. When they were finished, she swept her hair aside for a moment as she thought.

“That’s an awful heavy request, especially so soon after meeting me. I have yet to even explore this dimension…” She mumbled.

“But… We need to find out where Fabula went!” Luigi said desperately.

At the mention of the name, Estelle looked up suddenly. She seemed to be stunned by it, and took even longer to respond than before.

“Where did you hear that name?” She asked quickly.

“Uh… That’s what the guy called himself… Before disappearing.” Mario replied. He was confused by Estelle’s odd reaction, but didn’t press on it.

“I see… That name strikes a chord with me for some reason. It just… Sounds so familiar. I feel I should know him.” She whispered.

The brothers exchanged confused looks. Though they hadn’t known her for very long, this didn’t seem natural for her.

“Fine.” She agreed after an uncomfortable pause. “I will assist you. However, there are some things you must know about my abilities. You already know my teleportation uses a lot of energy… So I cannot use it right away after arriving in a dimension. But I also cannot control where I go. When teleporting, it’s merely up to chance where I wind up.”

Mario and Luigi frowned. That was certainly going to be an obstacle.

“But there is one more thing: I’m still going to look for anything that will help me regain my memory. That’s why, when we arrive at a new dimension… I’m going to insist we explore a bit before traveling on.” She finished with a stern tone.

The brothers were quiet, then turned to each other. Estelle looked away, given them a chance to discuss it.

“I didn’t expect that part with the teleportation.” Luigi admitted. “Now I’m not sure if it’s worth it, bro.”

Mario gave a small nod. “But it’s a better chance than what we had earlier, which was nothing.”

“I suppose.” Luigi mumbled. He paused for a moment, then sneezed.

“Are you sure you’re going to have the energy to do this, though?” Mario asked. “I’m worried your cold’s going to get worse in the middle of everything.”

“If it does, I’ll muddle through! I’m fine, I swear.” Luigi assured him, even though his pink face did nothing to calm his worries.

“Okay.” Mario said, turning to Estelle. “We’ll accept these conditions.”

“Very well. Are you ready to travel, then?” She replied.

The brothers nodded, and then Estelle held out her hands. The brothers took hold of them, then prepared themselves.

Estelle closed her eyes, concentrating. The trio suddenly started to glow, startling a few passerby Toads. As the white began to flood their vision, the brothers could feel themselves whisked away, off to some unknown dimension.

* * *

 

  
“Ah, geez, that was a close one!” Fabula sighed, twirling into view. The pink smoke that had surrounded him quickly faded, and he lighted on the ground. All around him, colors were shifting and shapes were spinning. It was hard to tell what was stable ground, but that was the norm in this dimension.

“ _Siiiiiirrrr!_ I’ve got the Stability Piece you wanted!” He spread all four of his arms out, then brought the one holding the piece forward. He wore a proud smile on his face, happy at the job well done.

“My, my! That was fast work.” Came a voice.

A smaller figure shimmered into view, quickly taking the Stability Piece from Fabula.

“Thank you, Dimentio, sir! Wasn’t too bad, either!” Fabula said. He kept his smile up for a moment more, then frowned, looking lost in thought.

“Is something the matter?” Dimentio asked, looking away from the piece for a moment.

“It’s just… Sir, I can’t thank you enough for helping me out. Especially after I lost my mask, and all. Finding these Stability Pieces so you can recover your power… It’s the least I can do, really! But… Sometimes I get the feeling I should be looking for something else, too…” Fabula muttered, fidgeting with the tufts of fur on his elbows.

Dimentio started at him for a moment, looking thoughtful, then smiled.

“Oh, you must mean ‘her!’” He cried.

Fabula blinked, confused.

“‘Her?’”

“Shortly before you lost your mask… Before I helped you out of that jam… You were talking about looking for somebody. You didn’t give a name, but you kept saying stuff like ‘I need to find her! It’s my fault she’s missing!’ I assume your desire you find her remains, even without memories.” Dimentio said, nodding slowly.

“Gee… That actually makes a lot of sense. But… How am I supposed to know if I found her? My mask is gone, and my memories along with it… So how am I supposed to know what she looks like? Like you said, a Masked Magician’s memories are linked to their mask. Without mine, I’m… Pretty much hopeless!” Fabula groaned, hunching over.

Dimentio shook his head and floated closer to Fabula.

“I promise you, I’m doing everything in my power to find your mask. But for that power to increase, I need more Stability Pieces, okay? You keep looking for them. I’ll let you know when I’ve found it.”

Fabula nodded, standing up straight.

“Right, sir! Sorry for bothering you with that stuff. I’ll get to looking for the next one right away!”

Without another word, Fabula twirled, and vanished in a puff of pink smoke.

Dimentio waited a few moments before turning back to the Stability Piece in his hand.

“Good. Just keep doing as I say…”

With a wave of his hand, the piece disappeared. He snapped his fingers, and a large golden mask appeared beside him. The top half had a smile and wide eyes, but when it was turned over, the mouth changed to a frown with droopy eyes.

“After all, as long as I have this, you really have no reason not to!”


	2. There goes another one

* * *

 

 

_Fabula clutched his chest, hunching over from the pain. He had to get out of this place. Hostile creatures were all around, and they had already done so much damage to him. He was lucky to have found a quiet place for some reprieve, but they would find him eventually._

_Mustering up some of his remaining strength, he focused on teleporting. He didn’t care where, as long as it was safer than here. His wounds were still fresh, and he winced as he gave his usual twirl. With puff of blue smoke that matched his accessories, he was gone._

_Oh no. The dimension he teleported to… It had a barrier. Many dimensions had this, to prevent other dimensions from mingling… But he would have the energy to teleport again. He focused, and called on the last of his strength. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to get through._

_He found himself falling in a world of color. Not sure when the ground would meet him, he braced himself. He let out a sharp cry as he hit something solid, but was relieved to finally be at rest. Unable to do anything else, he simply lay there, breathing heavily._

_He felt his vision blur, and the shadows of unconsciousness called to him… But a voice above him snapped him back to reality._

 

_Above him floated a strange being… It reminded him of a jester. Striped with yellow and purple, the being grinned down at him. It took him a moment to realize the stranger wore a mask._

_“And just who has come knocking on this dimension’s door?” The stranger asked, a bit of a laugh seeping out. “I could have sworn I put up my best barrier to keep the riffraff out!”_

_Fabula grimaced as he struggled to push himself into a sitting position. With one set of arms still covering the worst of his wounds, he clasped the other in a pleading gesture._

_He carefully pieced together the information he had so far--A being in their own dimension… Wearing a mask… Could it be? Given how weak the barrier was compared his own strength, the being likely wasn’t very old…_

_“Forgive me, young one… I had no intention of disturbing anybody. I simply fled to a nearby dimension so that I may recover my energy… I’m afraid even if I wanted to, I am not able to leave until I get some rest.” He managed, feeling how sore his jaw was. He had received several blows to the face, and slamming into the ground like that had not helped._

_The being floating above him narrowed their eyes._

_“It’s rather presumptive of you to call me ‘young one,’ you know. I am a being of many centuries, of immense magical power--a pleaser of crowds! But many simply call me Dimentio.” Dimentio put a hand to his chin._

_Fabula smiled weakly in response, though Dimentio would be unable to see under his mask, then felt another wave of pain overcome him._

_“While you are one of centuries, I am one of millenia. That much was apparent when I was able to break into this dimension. By that right, I am your elder and superior.”_

_“You speak as if that is supposed to be common sense.” Dimentio said, suddenly sounding more serious. He didn’t stop smiling, but Fabula noted that his grin did get a bit smaller._

_“Well, you do wield a mask… Power over dimensions and other magic abilities... Are you not aware of your kin, the Masked Magicians?” Fabula mumbled, hunching over again. He still felt ready to pass out._

_“I believe that is to be assumed, as I have no idea what you blabber on about!”_

_Fabula winced, a bit offended that his words were being called mere blabber. He very much wanted to put the younger one in his place… But he held his tongue._

_“Then perhaps… In exchange for some time here, so that I may rest… I can enlighten you….” Fabula made his desperation clear in his voice. He was at the mercy of this other being. Now was not the time to get on his bad side.  
_

_“... You do have me intrigued. Very well, explain away!” Dimentio spread his hands out.  
_

_“For starters… We are identified by our masks, as the name of our kind implies. We also gain power with age… So while you were able to put up a strong barrier… I was able to use only a small bit of my power to break through it.” Fabula took in a sharp breath. He was starting to feel dizzy._

_“While many magical beings can wear masks like us, only Masked Magicians have a certain… dependence on theirs. When we reach a certain level of magical proficiency, we get our mask… Then as we wear it, it begins to house our memories and our strongest abilities.”_

_“Is that so…” Dimentio said. “So if one were to say, remove their mask?”_

_“They would lose most of their memories… And a good portion of their power, as well.” Fabula answered._

_Fabula swayed a little where he was sitting. The long silence that followed began to unnerve him._

_“And what were you doing, in a dimension that got you injured like this?” Dimentio’s tone turned to one of concern, and he tilted his head a bit._

_“I’m looking for my apprentice. I… I need to find her. Something happened to her and… It’s my fault.” It was getting harder to speak clearly. He couldn’t stay conscious for much longer._

_“Seems you have a lot to worry about, then. Fine. This talk was fun, so I suppose I’ll let you rest here. My magic is terrible for healing, though, so don’t expect any help from me.” Dimentio said, turning away from Fabula._

_Fabula finally fell over, grateful to have a chance to rest. His wounds would recover in time. Darkness soon filled his vision, and he began to sleep._

 

_Dimentio, however, had not left. He turned back to the older magician, deep in thought. What the intruder had told him had indeed interested him… He had never been aware of this stuff before._

_What interested him the most, however, was the fact that one would lose their memories if their mask was to be removed. Was that really true… ?_

_Well, now he had his chance to find out. He stepped carefully up to the large being paused by his head. He hadn’t paid much attention to it earlier, but the mask he wore was rather odd…_

_It was made of a tarnished gold material, and shaped like an hourglass. When looking at it from this angle, it bore a clear frown… But when Dimentio tilted his head so he could look at it upside-down, the lower half of the mask depicted a smile--though the eyes were closed on both sides._

_His curiosity getting the better of him, Dimentio reached out and took hold of the mask. He expected it to easily slip off, but no! It seemed to be stuck fast. Was it part of this man’s face?_

_“Well then… Perhaps this will do the trick!” With a small chuckle, Dimentio held out his hand, producing a sphere of energy. One way or another, he was going to get that mask off._

 

* * *

 

 

The trio of Mario, Luigi, and Estelle stumbled as they hit the ground. They hadn’t expected to be floating a bit in the air when they arrived, but at least the ground they fell on was covered in grass.

The brothers were the first to stand up, then noticed Estelle was still sitting.

“You alright?” Mario asked, holding a hand out. Estelle held her head for a moment before reaching out and accepting his help.

“I’m… Fine. That didn’t wear me out too much. I’m just a little dizzy.” She insisted. She took a few steps to make sure, then nodded.

“Everything around here is green!” Luigi noted, pointing. The other two looked around, discovering that he was right. Almost every inch of terrain was covered in some sort of plant. The trees covered up the sky, letting only a small amount of light through.

Being careful not to trip on any roots, the three set off, examining everything as they went.

“It’s going to take us forever to search this place.” Mario said with a bit of a sigh.

“Yeah, some dimensions can be huge!” Luigi added.

“I felt the same way when I first started teleporting around.” Estelle said softly. “It was an intimidating thing to think at first, but I didn’t let it stop me.” She hopped over a small long, which appeared to be a long-since fallen tree.

“Oh, but that has me thinking…” Luigi said, following her. Mario was not far behind him. “What if we actually manage to find a Stability Piece before Fabula does? Like, we can’t possibly always teleport to the same dimensions he does, right?”

“Easy! We warn its guardian so they can protect it from him.” Mario said, hands spread out.

“That’s if the guardian doesn’t attack us first.” Estelle said gravely.

The brothers frowned at her pessimistic suggestion, and continued walking on in silence. Aside from the plants, there seemed to be no forms of life, which began to unnerve the two.

 

It was several minutes before the silence was broken again. Estelle, without turning back to look at the two, asked a question.

“So… Why did you ask me if knew somebody named ‘Dimentio?’” Her voice was rather neutral, which startled the brothers and delayed their response.

“Well, we were just…” Mario fumbled to try and find the right words.

“Something happened a few years back. A magician named Dimentio… He could manipulate and travel through dimensions… He did some pretty horrible stuff, so when I heard you could travel like him… I suppose I panicked a bit.” Luigi said quickly, in a brief moment of courage. He didn’t like talking about what had happened, so he only gave the short version.

At this, Estelle stopped walking, and the brothers did too. They were starting to get scared of her behavior.

“Oh…” Was all she said. She remained quiet for another moment, then turned towards the brothers.

“I’m sorry to hear that. But… My magical abilities are very weak. I believe I only just started using them before I lost my memory. I doubt I could do anything serious like you described, even if I wanted to. I apologize for causing you that discomfort.” She said carefully.

The brothers looked at each other in surprise, and Luigi shrugged.

“Oh um… It’s no problem. I was probably being a bit paranoid, anyway.” He replied.

Estelle turned around again and continued walking, but called back to them.

“My demeanor certainly didn’t help, though, right? People have always told me I’m very calm and polite for my age. They keep saying they think I’m up to something.”

Not wanting to get left behind, the brothers hurried after her.

“You can say that again…” Luigi mumbled. Mario, however, gave a smile.

“Well, you’re not, right? So no need to worry! Come on, I think I see something up ahead!” Before the other two could stop him, he sprinted further down the path, making them dash after him.

 

It wasn’t long before they reached what Mario had been talking about. The path opened up into a large clearing, covered in large vines and patches of ivy. The trees overhead had leaves so dense, no light shone down. But that simply let the one light source in the area shine even brighter.

“There’s a Stability Piece!” Mario said, pointing towards the stone pedestal in the middle of the clearing. The Piece hovered slightly in the air, shimmering in rainbow colors.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s guarding it, though… Should we wait until somebody shows up?” Luigi suggested, folding his arms.

“Strange that it’s out in the open like this, too…” Mario said. “Let’s take a closer look.”

Mario strode into the clearing and reached the pedestal before Estelle and Luigi followed, though at a much slower place. Mario leaned down to get a closer look at the Stability Piece, when--

“WHO GOES THERE?!”

From underneath a giant pile of vines, a large red head dotted with white spots appeared. It was a Piranha Plant, though much bigger than usual. The vines all around them began to shift and move around.

“What is it with big enemies today, first the-!” Mario cried, but was suddenly hoisted up into the air by his leg. The vine that had grabbed him shook him around a bit, making his hat fall to the ground.

“A BUNCH OF INTRUDERS! HERE TO STEAL THE STABILITY PIECE!” The Piranha Plant roared.

“Wait, you’ve got it all wrong!” Estelle cried. She and Luigi attempted to run towards Mario, but were stopped in place by a barrier of vines.

“I DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU! I’M THE GUARDIAN OF THIS STABILITY PIECE, AND I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE NOTHING HAPPENS TO IT!”

“And nothing’s going to!” Mario said, waving his arms about. The vine had stopped shaking him, but being upside down was not helping his composition.

“We’re here to warn you about somebody else who might try and steal it!” Luigi pitched in.

“LIKE WHO?” The plant snarled.

 

“I believe they were referring to me!” A familiar voice called.

In a puff of pink smoke, Fabula appeared beside the pedestal, arms spread wide as if putting on a performance.

“It was mighty kind of you three to lead me to the Stability Piece, you know! In case you haven’t noticed, this forest is kind of a nightmare to get through.” He snickered.

“Fabula! Get out of here!” Mario shouted. He tried to shimmy free of the vine’s grip, but the Piranha Plant was still holding tight.

“Sorry there, Reddy! I really don’t have a lot of time for chatter. On a tight schedule, you know!” Fabula said with mock disappointment. He snatched the Stability Piece from its place and grinned.

“YOU! GIVE THAT BACK!”

The Piranha Plant dropped Mario and turned to Fabula. All of its rage was directed towards the Magician, and vines were suddenly slithering towards him at a quick pace.

“Oh, are we having a bit of a weed problem?” Fabula asked, tilting his head and looking puzzled. He switched back to his wide grin, however, and winked.

“I’ve got just the solution for that!”

Just like the one that had been seen on Shimmer Coast, a flash of bright pink light flooded the area, making the trio cover their eyes. The light had faded as quickly as it had come, leaving the clearing free of all the large vines.

“What?! How dare you, you--!”

The Piranha Plant, which had been enormous only seconds before, had suddenly shrunk, and was now the size of a houseplant. It looked up at Fabula, who now towered over it, and began to yell obscenities at him.

“Well, sorry to bounce so soon, but like I said, tight schedule! Ciao!” Fabula waved with his three free hands, then twirled on the spot, vanishing once again in a puff of colored smoke.

“He said it again…” Luigi mumbled, frowning. Estelle, having head him, glanced in his direction, but said nothing.

 

The Piranha Plant continued to shout at the enemy who was no longer there, and the trio began to recover from the situation. Mario grabbed his hat and put it back on, then walked over to the small plant, soon joined by Estelle and his brother.

“You alright?” Luigi asked, which Mario answered with a nod.

“Can’t say the same for me, though, can you?!” The Piranha Plant snapped. “Look at what he deed! I’m nothing more than a sprout now!”

“Well, we did warn you.” Estelle said curtly.

“You… You did…” The plant lowered its head in shame. “I jumped the gun, and it’s my fault the Stability Piece is gone now.”

“It’s not your fault! It’s Fabula’s!” Luigi assured it.

“So that was Fabula?” Estelle asked. She didn’t wait for an answer, and began to get lost in thought. The brothers paused, but then continued speaking with the plant when it was clear she wasn’t going to go on.

“However, it’s your fault I got distracted!” The plant was now scolding the group. “For that, I demand you go get the Stability Piece back! I know you can follow that guy, because only plants like me live in this dimension. How else were you able to get here?”

Mario shrugged, and Luigi nodded. They weren't strangers to taking on more tasks.

“We were already trying to get one back, so getting another doesn’t seem like a big deal.” The taller brother said.

At this, the Piranha Plant seemed shocked.

“W-Wait… That pink-feathered freak actually stole one from another dimension?” It spluttered, a bit aghast. “Then you have to hurry! You need to stop him before he steals too many!”

“Is something going to happen when too many are taken from their dimensions?” Mario asked. Dread was starting to creep up the brothers’ backs.

“If too many are taken… It will accelerate the collapse the dimensions affected… Whether or not their guardians are trying to slow it down. There’s even a chance it could affect other dimensions that still have their Stability Pieces.” The plant said slowly. It seemed to be absolutely stunned.

“Then we have to go after him!” Luigi insisted, clenching his fists.

“So… You’ll come right back here when you get the Stability Piece back, right?” The plant asked, a bit of hope creeping into its voice.

“Actually, no.” Estelle said, speaking for the first time in a while. Her voice made the brothers jump up in surprise, and Luigi even sneezed.

“I’m the one who takes us to different dimensions… But I cannot control where we go. Given the number of dimensions there are, it’s highly unlikely we can return.” She sighed, folding her arms.

“Hm… I think I have a solution to that. Come over here, child.” The plant urged.

Estelle stepped closer to the Piranha Plant, which began to chant something in an odd tongue. As the brothers looked on, a faint green light enveloped Estelle, and faded once the Piranha Plant had stopped speaking.

“My magic isn’t very versatile, but that should grant you the ability to return here whenever you wish. Now please, for the sake of this dimension, and all dimensions, stop that man!”

The trio thanked the plant for its help, then walked out of the clearing the way they had come. After a few minutes of walking in silence, the group stopped.

 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Luigi admitted. “Traveling through dimensions… Causing the destruction of worlds… And to top it all off, he said ‘ciao’ before leaving, twice!”

Mario wasn’t sure what to say to ease his brother’s anxiety. This was giving him bad vibes, too. Was it possible? Could their fears be true?

“When I saw Fabula, I felt something.” Estelle suddenly said, breaking the brothers from their thoughts. “I felt a surge of happiness, like I was glad to see him. But I do not know why.”

Mario was about to say something, but Estelle continued speaking, cutting him off.

“Anyway, I do indeed feel like I have a stronger connection to this place than I did before. I believe I will be able to teleport here when I wish.” She said.

“If we had known the guardians had that kind of power, we would have asked Miss Gills to do it!” Luigi said, puffing his cheeks. “Now we can’t go home, and--”

He stopped talking, a look of fear reaching his face.

“Luigi? You okay?” Mario asked, getting concerned.

“I… Forgot about the supplies!” Luigi wailed, reaching up and gripping his hat. “I left them on the ground outside the store, but then Estelle appeared and distracted me!”

Estelle and Mario stared at Luigi for a moment, but then began to chuckle. Soon, the chuckles turned into laughter. Luigi was embarrassed at first, but soon joined in when he realized he was fretting over nothing.

The laughter was only interrupted by a couple of sneezes from Luigi, which made Mario pause.

“You feeling any better, by the way?” He asked. He wasn’t sure if it was the light or not, but Luigi’s face did seem less flushed than it had before.

“Just fine!” Luigi assured him.  
“Shall we get going, then?” Estelle said, holding out her hands. It was time to move on to the next world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the italics helped you catch on, but the first part was supposed to be a flashback. Whoops.


	3. Overwhelming

* * *

 

Bright light shone down on the three travelers as they flashed into the new dimension. Not expecting the sudden heat, the group stood still for a moment, collecting their bearings.

“Woah…” Luigi finally said, looking down at their feet. “The sand here is bright blue! I’ve never seen anything like it before!”

Sure enough, the hot earth under their feet looked as blue as the sea. Light winds picked it up, making a haze float around their legs.

“Still hot like the deserts back home, though.” Mario commented, wiping his brow. Overalls and a long-sleeved shirt were not optimal desert attire.

“Blue sand?” Estelle kept looking down at the ground, a puzzled expression on her face. She then looked up and glanced around.

“I don’t know why… But this place feels familiar. Like it’s supposed to be welcoming in a way.” She finally said.

Mario smiled, but then gave a small shrug.

“Like you’ve been here before? That sounds great, but… Without your memory, it doesn’t do much good. How are we supposed to look for Fabula or the next Stability Piece when we’re surrounded by desert?”

“Hey guys, I see a city over there!” Luigi suddenly cried. He had walked a few yards away, and stood on top of a large sand dune, pointing off in the distance. Estelle and Mario quickly hurried after him, and they could see what he was talking about.

A few miles away, they could see a large assortment of buildings. They were all gathered around a castle that towered over them, standing out in the blue expanse.

“Well, we’d better get walking if we want to reach it.” Estelle said calmly. The three carefully made their way down the dune, then began their hike.

 

Though no large obstacles stood between them and the city, the trek still took a few hours. The sun beat down on them, and wind tried to blow sand into their eyes. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, they reached the edge of the city.

Though they couldn’t see it from a distance, the city was surrounded by a stone wall. The only visible entrance was a metal gate, and it was being guarded by a pair of strange individuals.

“Let’s go up to them and see if we can gain entrance.” Mario prompted, to which his companions agreed. The stout plumber took the lead, Luigi and Estelle close behind. Though they did their best to seem peaceful, the guards immediately raised their weapons at the sight of them.

“Woah, there!” Luigi immediately stopped in his tracks and put up his hands, and Estelle stopped beside him. Mario, however, walked right up to the guards.

“Hey, we’re not dangerous.” Mario said, chuckling. “We’ve just been walking through the desert, and saw your city. So we-”

He was suddenly shoved back by the larger of the guards.

“There’s nothing in the desert for miles! For you to come walking up here, no supplies, looking only a little winded? That’s very suspicious!” The smaller one snarled, not lowering his sword.

“And you certainly don’t look like traders.” The larger one commented.

“Do you really expect us to believe you’re not-” The smaller guard continued, but stopped short when he saw Estelle. The other guard was about to ask what was wrong, when he caught sight of her too.

“Softest Sands… She’s back!”

“Open the gate, Crumble!”

The larger guard hurried off to a door in the side of the wall. Shortly after vanishing inside, the metal gate began to screech open, and the smaller guard lowered his weapon.

“Please accept our apologies, Lady Estelle. We did not recognize you at first! You and your companions are free to enter.” He finished with a small bow, then ran off into the room the other guard had vanished in.

The three travelers exchanged looks, confused by the sudden change. After a moment, they decided not to overthink it, and cautiously stepped through the gate. As they continued down the city’s narrow road, they could hear the gate clang shut behind them.

 

“So, uh… what was that all about?” Mario asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why’d they call you ‘Lady Estelle?’”

Estelle shrugged, looking hopeless.

“Your guess is as good as mine. My only assumption is that I was here before I lost my memories.” She sighed.

“So you don’t remember doing anything here?”

“No. I did say this place seemed familiar, but-”

_**“STELLY!”** _

A new voice called to them, breaking their conversation. Before any of them could react, there was a flash of orange, and Estelle was knocked to the ground.

“YOU’RE BACK, YOU’RE BACK! IT’S BEEN FOREVER! NOW I’M ALL GROWN UP AND YOU LOOK LIKE YOU HAVEN’T AGED A DAY!”

The orange being had grabbed Estelle around the torso, and was giving her a hug. Estelle, not used to this kind of contact, simply held her arms out. She looked at the being with distress.

“Um, excuse me-” Luigi tried to break in, but paused when the resident finally let go of Estelle. She looked at the brothers with awe, then folded her arms.

“And just who are these sweaty guys?”

“S-Sweaty?!” Luigi grumbled. They had been walking in the desert for a few hours! Of course they were sweaty!

“Does that mean your mentor is busy with something? Maaaan, I was hoping he would transform stuff like he used to!” The resident seemed to forget the brothers were there, and was once again focusing on Estelle.

“Please… Slow down. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” With some assistance from Mario, Estelle carefully got back to her feet.

Upon hearing this, the resident paused, finally giving Estelle a good look-over. When her eyes rested on Estelle’s face, she jumped up in shock.

“You don’t… _YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR MASK ON!_ OH NO! OH **_NONONONO_ ** , THAT’S NO GOOD! NOW YOU DON’T REMEMBER THIS PLACE, OR WHAT YOU DID ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!”

“Um, could you please calm down? You’re not explaining this in a way we understand!” Luigi insisted, waving his arms worriedly.

At this the resident paused, then went still. She waited a few seconds, then took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry. I let my excitement get the best of me sometimes. My name is Shard. I’m a friend --Or, well, I used to be--of Estelle’s.” Shard said, nodding.

“I’m afraid I don’t remember you.” Was all Estelle said, looking ashamed. Shard, on the other hand, waved it off.

“Well of course you don’t, Stelly! We met when I was a child, after all! Not only have I grown up, but you’ve somehow lost your mask! How could you have been so careless, especially with another Masked Magician teaching you!”

Estelle tilted her head at Shard’s words.

“Masked Magician… That sounds familiar, at least.”

“It should, because that’s what you are!” Shard insisted. She put her hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks.

Estelle closed her eyes, trying to think, but shook her head and groaned.

“I apologize… But we’ve been walking in the desert for a while. Is there any place we could get some rest while you explain all of this to us?

“Of course!” Shard said with a smile. “Come with me, I’m in charge of the daycare now, so you can stop by!”

* * *

 

 

“There you go!” Shard cried as she set down a tray on the table. It was covered with fresh fruit and cups of water, which the brothers happily accepted. They sat on simple wooden chairs which were a little too small for them. (“Almost everything here is child-sized, sorry!” Shard had explained.)

“Sorry it’s not very filling, but it’s good for rehydration. It’s kind of all I’ve got, since this is a place for kids.” She paused and looked out into the next room.

The ground floor of the building they were in was covered with carpets, most of which were littered with toys or stained with paint. Though there were only a few children playing inside, they still made a lot of noise. Shard closed the door, muffling the shouts, and then turned to the group.

“I’ve got my assistant covering, so I’m free to talk. So… Where do I begin…” Shard mumbled, putting a hand to her chin.

“How about you start with Masked Magicians?” Estelle suggested. “That’s what stands out for me. It sounds so familiar, like the meaning is on the tip of my tongue, but…”

“Can do, can do! Masked Magicians, huh? Well, here goes!” Shard took a deep breath, and then began.

“Masked Magicians are powerful magical beings, who can travel through dimensions. As they get older, their power grows, and they can do a variety of things! Estelle, do you know how old you are?” She looked to Estelle suddenly, making the girl jump.

“Um… Well… I’m unsure about the exact number, to be honest. I do know it’s a few decades, at least.” She answered.

“So you’re getting close to being a young adult, by your race’s standards. Not quite, though. Thus, your power isn’t very strong compared to other Masked Magicians. But it was still pretty impressive all those years ago!” Shard said, nodding.

“You keep saying I did something a long time ago… But I don’t remember even being here.”

“Ah, that’s where the next part of my explanation comes in.” Shard said, folding her arms.

“You see, the race isn’t called ‘Masked Magicians’ for the alliteration’s sake! The magician’s mask houses the strongest of their powers, as well as their core memories. The more a Masked Magician wears their mask, the more it becomes a part of them, so it’s an extension of themselves.”

She then frowned, as if saddened by this fact.

“That’s why you don’t remember this place, then. Because you lost your mask. You had it when you visited a long time ago, with your mentor.”

It was Luigi’s turn to interject.

“Who is this ‘mentor’ you speak of? You mentioned him when we were outside.”

Shard bowed her head apologetically, not sure what to say at first. After a moment of silence, she looked up, and spoke again.

“I… I don’t remember him very well. Like I said, I was a kid when Estelle first came here. I kind of mainly remember her, because of what she did! Estelle, you came here to practice magic, and it was amazing!” The more she spoke about the past, the more she seemed to relax, and a smile returned to her face.

Mario, however, scratched his head, still a bit confused.

“What I don’t get is how you know so much about Masked Magicians, even though Estelle visited a long time ago.”

“Oh, did I forget to explain that? Sorry.” Shard covered her mouth and giggled a bit.

“The reason I know a lot is because, well, the whole city knows! Our queen was a Masked Magician! She told the whole city about her kind, that way we wouldn’t fear her or her powers. The queen was very kind, and used her powers to defend the entire city.”

Shard then sighed, frowning again.

“Even when it cost her her life. She died a few years ago.”

The silence that followed hung uncomfortably in the air. The brothers continued eating, though much slower than before. Estelle looked like she was deep in thought again, then turned back to Shard. She seemed about to ask something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Shard hurried over and opened the door, revealing another orange being, only slightly shorter than Shard. She was frazzled, and holding fragments of pottery.

“Miss, I don’t mean to interrupt, but where’s the glue? Granule broke the flower vases again!”

Shard sighed, then turned to her guests.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to leave you for a bit. I’ve probably rambled on for too long, anyway. I’ll let you rest up!”

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

 

“Shard doesn’t sound like she’s lying…” Estelle began, turning to Mario and Luigi. “But if I really am a Masked Magician, and I lost my mask, there’s no way I can know for sure, is there?”

“It is a bit of a problem.” Mario admitted, shrugging. He took the opportunity to finish the last of his fruit.

Luigi set down his empty water glass and gave a contented smile, but paused when he saw Estelle had not touched her portion of food.

“H-Hey, aren’t you thirsty?” He asked. She had been walking with them, so surely she wanted something to recover with, too.

It took Estelle a moment to realize what he was talking about, to which she chuckled.

“I don’t have a mouth, remember?” She said, pointing to her face. “I do get tired, but I don’t recover energy with anything other than rest.” As she explained, she began to sound a little embarrassed about it. She hoped she hadn’t worried them all this time…

“Oh!” Mario cried, rubbing the back of his head. He had been wondering too, but Luigi had taken the initiative to ask.

“If you two want mine, you can have it.” She offered, turning the tray around so they could reach it easier. The brothers thanked her, and made quick work of the remaining food.

As the last piece of fruit was eaten, Shard returned, looking a bit pleased with herself.

“You know, I just had an idea while I was out there. If you want to know more about Masked Magicians or your mentor, you should ask the king!” She cried.

“What’s the king have to do with this?” Luigi asked, frowning slightly.

“Well, I recall that when Estelle and her mentor were here, her mentor was really buddy-buddy with the king and queen. It’s probably because he was a Masked Magician like the queen, so they had a sort of kinship!”

“That actually sounds like a good idea. Let’s go, then!” Mario said, hopping up from his seat. The brothers seemed to be reinvigorated after the break, but Estelle merely stood up slowly. She let the twins head out the door before her, and was soon left alone with Shard.

 

“Hey,” Shard said, walking over to her. “I know you don’t remember me very well… And it can be scary, going on without memories… But there are people in this town that remember you, and they’ll be happy to help you with whatever you need, okay?”

Estelle stared at Shard for a moment, doubt creeping into her eyes. When she saw that Shard was being genuinely empathetic, she relaxed.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the help.”

* * *

 

 

The trio made their way down the dark blue road, chatting about their next steps.

“We need to find out how to get in contact with the king.” Mario said simply.

“Well, couldn’t we just knock on his door? I’m pretty sure that big castle in the middle of town is his home.” Luigi said with a bit of a chuckle.

“Depends on how welcoming the king is, I guess.” Mario mumbled. Peach kept her castle doors open to all visitors, but that didn’t mean this king would have the same setup.

The group turned a corner, and found the road opened up into a wider area. From the stalls and shops that lined the area, this was likely an area where traders and merchants could gather and sell things.

“Perhaps we could ask around, then!” Luigi suggested, gesturing to the large group of people in the square. The brothers continued their casual stride, and failed to notice Estelle was beginning to fall behind.

It was only until they were a few yards away from her did they notice she was missing. When they looked back, she had stopped in the middle of the path, looking around anxiously.

“Is something wrong?” Mario called.

“Everyone is… Staring at me…” Estelle mumbled, trying to make herself seem smaller. The brothers glanced around, and sure enough, almost every set of eyes were locked onto Estelle. All conversation seemed to peter out, and the square was eerily silent.

“What’s going-” Luigi was about to say, but sudden movement stopped him. All of the residents in the square suddenly surged toward Estelle, shouting a variety of things that were unable to be deciphered.

The Bros. found themselves knocked over, and had to shield themselves so they wouldn’t get stomped on by the mob surrounding Estelle. When they finally pulled themselves back up, a wall of people stood between them and their friend.

“Hey!” Luigi wailed, trying to push his way through. Mario followed suit, and the two began to slowly wade their way back to her.

“LADY ESTELLE! PLEASE, HELP US AGAIN!”

“THE DRAGON, IT’S RETURNED! WE NEED YOU!”

“SHE’S BACK, IT HAS TO BE A SIGN! SHE HAD TO BE THE ONE WHO PROTECTS US AGAIN!”

“I…” Estelle managed, but her voice caught in her throat. The deafening cries of everyone, and the hands reaching out for her… It was too much.

“Please… Go away…” She mumbled, her voice sounding hoarse. She held her head, and began to tremble. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“SAVE US!”

“YOU CAN’T JUST DO NOTHING!”

“WE’RE ALL GOING TO PERISH AT ITS CLAWS!”

Mario and Luigi finally broke through the crowd, standing next to Estelle. They each took a side, then spread their arms out so as to shield her from the frenzy.

“Leave me alone…” Estelle said. A sniffle soon followed as she fell to her knees. Tears began to form in her eyes, so she clenched them shut.

“Back off!” Mario said, but it was of no use. The resistance from the brothers only increased the crowd’s volume. Some individuals tried to push the brothers away, but they swept them aside.

_**“ALL OF YOU, CEASE THIS AT ONCE.”** _

A booming voice sounded over the wails of the crowd, which almost immediately fell silent. The brothers tensed, ready for some new challenge, but were surprised when the crowd began to part.

“Shame on all of you, swarming our guests like this. This is a desperate time, yes, but that’s no excuse to act like heathens!” The crowned figure shouted. The mob seemed to get the message, and it slowly began to thin out, most returning to their business.

The crowned figure walked to the trio, exuding an aura of peace. The twins dropped their defensive poses and let the stranger approach Estelle.

“I apologize for the behavior of my subjects, dear.” The stranger said gently, holding a hand out. Estelle remained still for a moment, but took the hand, slowly getting back to her feet.

“Please forgive them. They are very scared right now, and did not mean to overwhelm you. It’s just… Since you helped us out last time…” The stranger continued, giving a small nod.

Estelle wiped the tears away and nodded, but otherwise said nothing. Once they were sure she had calmed down, the brothers finally relaxed.

“Please, come with me.” The stranger urged, walking up the path, the way the trio had come from. The three followed, remaining quiet the whole time.

 

It wasn’t long before the group reached their destination: The large castle in the middle of the city. Its grand white walls towered over everything else, making it quite an impressive piece of architecture.

“Are you the king?” Mario finally asked, breaking the silence. It seemed rather obvious now, given the stranger was wearing a crown, but he felt he should still ask.

“Yes. My name is King Cleave. Please, come inside.”

A few minutes later, the group stood in a lavishly-decorated throne room. While the building outside had been stark white, the walls and floor inside were a blue not unlike the sand that made up the ground. Everything was polished to a pristine shine, and Luigi even noticed he could make out his reflection in one of the support columns.

“I would like to apologize again,” King Cleave said, turning to the three and giving a bow of the head. “Lady Estelle, are you alright?”

“Better, thank you.” Estelle answered. Her voice was a bit shaky, but she was now much calmer than earlier. “I’m not used to such large crowds… I suppose I got overwhelmed.”

“You could hear the desperation in their voices, though, could you not? The Adobe Dragon has returned… And they want you to defeat it again.” The king replied.

At this, Estelle looked confused.

“Again?”

The king was silent for a moment, then nodded to himself, as if in understanding.

“... My apologies. I did not notice you do not have your mask. But yes, you conquered the dragon before. 20 years ago, to be specific. You had come here to train your magic powers, and in the process defeated the Adobe Dragon that had been threatening the city and its people.

“The dragon returned a few months ago, and we have been on edge. Since you have returned as well, I believe the city took it as a sign. They want you to fight it again.”

“What? That’s impossible. I barely have any offensive magic as it is.” Estelle shook her head quickly, not envisioning herself as a fighter.

“And Masked Magicians are stronger with their masks on.”

“That’s my point. How am I expected to fight it, when I am essentially powerless?”

King Cleave was quiet again, this time in deep thought. After a few minutes passed by with no interruption, he lowered his head.

“Give me one moment. I believe I have an idea.”

Without another word, he turned from the room and left through one of the many connecting doors.

“We’ve had experience fighting lots of tough customers!” Mario said in an attempt to assure Estelle. “Even a dragon or two! We can certainly help out with this Adobe Dragon!”

Luigi nodded in agreement, then sneezed. Mario glanced towards his brother, looking concerned, but the taller twin merely looked in the other direction, ignoring him.

 

A few minutes later, King Cleave returned, followed by a smaller figure. As the smaller figure got close, the trio could see he was wearing a necklace with something very familiar.

“A Stability Piece!” Mario cried, jumping a little.

“Oh, so you’ve heard of them, have you?” King Cleave asked.

“Yeah, they keep the dimensions intact. In fact, we should warn you… Somebody is going around stealing them, and he might try and take yours as well.” The red-clad plumber said.

“Oh, dear, that’s not good news at all. But… Keeping dimensions stable, that’s not all the Stability Pieces can do. When in their proper dimension, they can grant immense magical power. The royal family has guarded this dimension’s Stability Piece for generations. I believe it will help you defeat the Adobe Dragon, but…”

King Cleave tried to reach for the necklace around the young one’s neck, but the child turned away, making a noise of alarm. King Cleave looked back at the trio, shaking his head.

“After my wife died, my son has been clinging to it. The necklace is the only thing he has to remember her by.”

“Is there any way he’ll part with it?” Estelle asked.

“Not that I know of, I’m afraid…” The king looked at his son desperately, but simply received a cold glare in return.

“I’m afraid that aside from that, I don’t have-” The king began, but his son suddenly began to speak.

“I’ll let them have it if they can bring momma’s mask back!”

“But… Luster, that’s a very dangerous task! Many have tried already, and they’ve all wound up horribly injured!” The king cried.

“I don’t care! Momma died trying to seal the Adobe Dragon’s artifact away deep in the temple. Her mask is still in there! If they can bring the mask back, they can have the Stability Piece!”

King Cleave shook his head slowly, then sighed.

“The Adobe Dragon is a dangerous creature created by our ancestors. It was meant to be the guardian of the city, but needed a spirit to live. However, our ancestors feared that if it were to become one with its spirit, it would grow too strong for them to control.

“So they put the spirit in what is now called the Dragon Artifact, and hid it deep in the temple. The dragon can be defeated, but as long as its spirit remains unsealed, it will eventually wake again. The dragon has actually gone into the temple to try and look for it, making any attempts to stop it very dangerous.”

“You say people who’ve gone into the temple have wound up injured… Is this because of the dragon?” Estelle asked, a bit cautious.

“That, and the temple has many dangerous traps and puzzles. In all, the mechanisms required to get through it need a team of four people. Even if you were to volunteer for finding my wife’s mask… You would not have enough people to do it.”

This was quite the predicament. The trio turned to each other, ready to discuss their options, when a voice called from the entrance.

 

“Sire! You have somebody wishing to speak to you.”

King Cleave nodded his head and called back.

“Send them in.”

A moment later, a cloaked figure entered the room. They kept their head down, and approached the king. Mario, Luigi, and Estelle stepped aside so they would not be in the way, but couldn’t help and listen to the stranger.

“Your majesty… I am but a traveler from many, many miles away… But I couldn’t help but hear the talk in the town--An ancient beast, the Adobe Dragon, has risen again… I believe that if one were to make it to its artifact in the temple and seal it, the Dragon would be put at rest, yes?” The cloaked figure said, his voice low.

“You are well-informed, for you believe correctly.” The king answered.

“Then please. I am a magic-user. Allow me to go to the temple and seal it away. I only just arrived in this city, but I feel that if I am able to, I should at least attempt it.”

At this suggestion, King Cleave turned to the trio.

“It seems, by a stroke of luck, your fourth person has arrived. Will you go with him? If you can manage to seal the dragon away, then you do not have to worry about fighting it.”

The three exchanged looks, then stared at the stranger cautiously. As if sensing their apprehension, he bowed his head and spoke.

“My name is Ignis. I will do my best not to cause you any trouble if we are to travel together.”

With one last shared look, the trio finally nodded. They would go with Ignis.

  
“It is decided, then! Splendid! Please, allow me to show you the way to the temple.” King Cleave said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where did all this worldbuilding come from........ *stares at hands*
> 
> Also you thought it was gonna be one dimenson per chapter, didn't you. HA! I FOOLED YOU!
> 
> But next chapter might be slow-going, because nnnnggghhh I gotta write traveling and *loud groan* COMBAT.


	4. The Adobe Dragon

* * *

 

“Here it is, the temple of the Adobe Dragon.” King Cleave said, stopping outside of the rectangular structure.

The temple itself was made of a pale blue, earthy material. Several etchings of a serpentine creature decorated the walls and doorframe. Luigi and Estelle couldn’t help but feel uneasy, as the eyes of all the creatures seemed to be looking down at them.

“The entrance here opens up into the antechamber, which is the only part of the temple above ground. The further into the temple you go, the deeper it gets. I am not sure where the Dragon Artifact is hidden, but do not hesitate to search every room thoroughly.”

The group of four nodded as one, then stepped towards the entrance. With the thunderous grumble of stone sliding on stone, the heavy door opened, granting them access.

“Let’s not dawdle, then!” Ignis said with a smile. He glanced at the other three, who only looked back with solemn expressions. Trumped by their serious aura, Ignis shrugged, and let the brothers lead the way.

 

They stepped into the antechamber, which seemed very plain compared to the temple’s exterior. The walls were unblemished, and the tiles making up the ground showed no sign of wear.

“The king said there would be obstacles that need all four of us to get past.” Estelle mumbled. “I think we should stick together, even if the path branches out.”

“But what if the obstacle requires us to split up?” Ignis asked, but his smile showed he was merely poking fun at her.

Estelle huffed, then folded her arms. She looked away from Ignis, who frowned.

“Alright, guys, let’s not squabble before we’ve even stepped inside.” Mario urged, heading to the next doorway. “The stairs are just up ahead. Looks like we’re going down now.”

“You don’t think this place is going to, uh, collapse, do you?” Luigi suddenly asked, sounding nervous.

“I doubt it.” Ignis said in a comforting tone. “It’s remained stable for centuries, so it will probably be fine.”

Luigi gave a relieved sigh, then followed his brother down the steps.

“Well, after you, my dear!” Ignis offered, giving a polite bow to Estelle. She shot him a withering look before heading down the steps as well, and Ignis went down shortly after.

“I don’t get good vibes from Ignis.” Estelle mumbled to Mario as she caught up with the brothers.

“Well… He does seem a bit odd… But that’s probably just how he is. Don’t hold it against him.” The red-clad plumber said. “Look, we’re at the first room.”

 

The group stopped at the bottom of the steps, which had opened up to a large room lined with structural columns. The carvings of the dragon had returned, leering at the group like before. At the other end of the room was another doorway, but it was sealed shut.

The group made their way to the door, but stopped when it didn’t open for them.

“There’s no handle or anything… How do we open it?” Luigi asked. He looked at the others, but they didn’t seem to have any ideas, either.

“Perhaps there’s some sort of switch in the room…” Mario suggested. It wouldn’t be the first time he encountered something like this. “Let’s look around.”

The four spread out, examining every nook and cranny for possible switches. About ten minutes passed before the first one was found.

“Over here!” Estelle called. She had gone behind one of the columns, finding a bright blue button fixed to the side.

“Did you press it?” Ignis asked.

“I did, but nothing happened. Could it be broken?” She said worriedly.

“No, I don’t think so. Because I found a switch, too.” Ignis gestured to the dragon carving he was standing next to. Where the eye would have been was another blue button.

“Try pressing them at the same time!” Luigi called from the other end of the room. The pair did as instructed, but still nothing happened.

“It might be that there are more in here. Remember, the puzzles need four people, so… It’s very likely there are two more buttons to press.” Ignis reminded everyone.

“You two stay by your buttons. Luigi and I will look for the other two.” Mario said.

Luckily, it didn’t take long for the last two to be found. One was located on another column closer to the closed door, and the other was tucked away in one of the room’s corners. The four pressed them in unison, and the door slid open with the familiar scrape of stone.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad!” Ignis laughed, hurrying to the door. “Let’s go before it closes, everyone!”

The group made their way down the second set of stairs, finally coming to terms with what they could be encountering in the temple.

“I hope things don’t get too complicated.” Estelle said. “Let’s find the artifact as soon as we can.”

 

* * *

 

“Let’s take a break.” Mario said to the other three, who were starting to look frustrated. They had managed to make it to the fourth level, but were now quite stumped. There were no switches to be found, and nothing hinted at what they should do.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Ignis agreed, sitting down on the stony floor. Everyone else followed suit, grateful for some rest. While it was much cooler inside the temple, the air was dry and dusty. After spending too much time in it, the group felt cramped and stuffy.

“Hey Ignis,” Luigi said, turning to the cloaked figure. “I’ve been wondering… What brings you to this city? You don’t seem to be the same as the residents here.”

Ignis tilted his head, giving a small smile.

“Oh, well, I’m a glassworker. The blue sand in this desert creates a very beautiful color of glass when heated, so I came to get some.”

“But didn’t you say you were a magic-user?”

“That’s right, I did. I specialize in fire magic, which is what I use to make and shape my glass. But I also know a few simple sealing spells, so I decided to offer my assistance to the king.”

“That’s pretty generous of you.” Estelle said, then folded her arms. “Aside from traveling between dimensions, I don’t think I’ve used any magic abilities…”

“Huh? What are you going on about, now?” Ignis asked, his voice full of genuine curiosity.

“According to the king, I’m a Masked Magician. But… I’ve lost my mask, so I don’t have a lot of my abilities… I don’t think I’ve even tried to use anything aside from my teleporting.”

“Well, I can help you with that if you want. Once we finish our main objective, that is. Every magic-user should know basic stuff like fighting.” Ignis supplied with a shrug. “Do either of you know magic?” He asked, turning to the brothers.

“Uh… No, not really.” Mario mumbled, rubbing the back of head head.

“It’s not really our thing.” Luigi answered, rather curtly. He looked off to the side, then stiffened.

“Guys… Was that pile of bandages there before?” He asked with a trembling voice. He pointed to the door they had come from, where a pile of tattered linen bandages lay.

 

Everyone went still as they realized the same thing. The bandages actually hadn’t been there before. The only time they saw them was in the previous room, covering a switch needed to progress.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Ignis said, standing up. The rest of the group rose with him, with varying degrees of readiness. Estelle and Mario aggressive stances, while Luigi took a couple of steps back. When he saw how everyone else was doing, he took a breath and turned to the bandages, raising his fists.

“Whatever happens, stay alert!” Ignis warned, walking forward. He advanced toward the suspicious pile, then feinted a kick at it.

Almost immediately, the bandages rose up and took form. The pile separated into three main clumps, which formed distinctive shapes.

Ignis jumped back, snarling.

“Are they some kind of ghost?” Luigi yelped, but didn’t quail away. He had handled spirits before. He wouldn’t let these get the best of him.

“Um… Remember how the king said the queen’s group never made it back?” Estelle asked quietly. “Do you think these could be…”

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Ignis said coldly. “We need to defend ourselves. These things obviously aren’t here to give us handshakes.”

As if on cue, the spheres of bandages charged, going straight for the group.

Mario and Luigi did what they do best: They jumped. The duo landed on the largest of the figures, dispersing its form and leaving a tangle of linen underneath them. They looked at each other in triumph, but were then knocked to the ground as the bandages slipped out from under them.

“Physical attacks aren’t gonna work!” Mario cried. He watched as the bandages he had just flattened regained their form, its beady yellow eyes only managing to look angrier.

“Then let’s try this!” Ignis gestured to Estelle, who hurried to his side. “All you need to do is concentrate your energy, like when teleporting. But instead of using it to travel, make it take on a physical form. This is your magic attack!”

To demonstrate, he held out a clawed hand, summoning a large red fireball. As one of the attackers drew near, he tossed it.

The fireball hit the figure, immediately making the bandages catch fire. With a wail, the ghost began to run around. The brothers had to dodge out of the way as it ran about in pain. It only came to stop when it slammed into one of its companions, causing the flames to engulf it as well.

“That takes care of two of ‘em, but what about the big guy?” Mario called. The larger ghost had finally recovered from being disassembled, and was starting to stomp its way towards the group.

 

“Now’s your chance!” Ignis said to Estelle, pushing her gently to the figure.

Estelle stood frozen for a moment, a bit intimidated by the approaching hostile. She shook her head, clearing the panicked thoughts, then began to do as Ignis had instructed. She held out her hands, then focused her energy.

It took a moment, but eventually, a pale sphere of blue light flickered into view. Wisps of smoke began to drift from it, giving it an ethereal look.

“Now throw!”

Estelle had been so entranced by her own magic, she had almost forgot about the attacker. Snapping to attention with Ignis’ call, she tossed the sphere at the figure, sending a cascade of bright blue light everywhere.

The figure recoiled from the strike, shuddering. It seemed to recover, turning back to Estelle, and began to step toward her again, when--

_THWUMP!_

It fell over, landing face-first on the ground, and kicking up a large amount of dust.

“Is it… Defeated?” Luigi asked cautiously. He and his brother stepped forward, as if to inspect it, when the figure gave out a strange rumbling noise.

“No… It would seem Estelle’s attack merely put it to sleep.” Ignis replied with a chuckle. “Perhaps offensive magic really isn’t your thing.”

Ignis fired another blast of fire, lighting the bandages on fire. They burnt up quickly, being reduced to nothing but ashes in a matter of seconds.

“I suppose that’s the case.” Estelle mumbled, looking a bit disappointed. She had hoped her magic would have been powerful, but there wasn’t much to admire in putting enemies to sleep. She also didn't like Ignis' tone.

“There’s nothing to be disappointed about!” Ignis assured her. “Sometimes attacking something directly isn’t always the best strategy, so being able to put your foes to sleep is very useful.”

“Hey guys, look!” Mario cried. He had reached the far end of the room, where the closed door had been. As if the defeat of the ghosts had triggered it, the door was now wide open.

“I think it leads to the last room. There’s a very long set of stairs back here.”

“Let’s get going, then.” Ignis wasted no time walking to the door. Luigi and Estelle hung back a bit, still surprised at how quickly the threat had been taken care of. When they recovered from their stupor, they followed Ignis and Mario down the steps.

* * *

 

“This certainly is the last room.” Ignis mumbled, looking around. It was pitch black, but he had summoned another ball of flames to light the area up.

There were no more doors and columns, only short stone walls and a low roof. In the center of the room stood a trapezoid-shaped structure, riddled with carvings. The carvings on the structure and the walls were the same--twirling pictures of the Adobe Dragon and unique symbols surrounding it.

“I don’t think anything is- **_WUAGH!_ ** ” Luigi suddenly screamed as he stepped forward, jumping to the side and grabbing onto Mario.

Ignis’ light had just cast over the back of the room, revealing a large statue. Given the serpentine shape and sharp fangs, there was no doubt about it: This was a depiction of the Adobe Dragon. Its mouth hung open in an silent roar, and its claws were unsheathed. However, it made no movements.

“It’s… Just a statue.” Ignis mumbled, sounding as if he had been startled by it, too. “This must have been an important chamber, given how many pictures of the dragon there are.”

“There were no other rooms.” Estelle reminded everyone. “We checked everywhere top to bottom, so… The mask and artifact have to be in here, right?”

She looked to her right, glancing at a corner of the room. It was hard to see as Ignis’ light didn’t reach that far, but she could have sworn she saw something glinting…

Not speaking to the other three, she carefully made her way to the corner, squinting in the dark. She kneeled down and carefully reached out, touching something hard and cold.

“Guys?” She asked, standing back up. She held out what she had found, a heavy object that felt like it was made out of glass.

Ignis moved over so his light could shine on it better, revealing what Estelle was holding.

“Could this be the mask the king was talking about?” Mario asked. It was a rather silly question to ask, but somebody had to.

“I believe so.” Ignis answered. “Good find, Estelle. I suggest you hold onto that for the time being.”

Estelle nodded, gripping the mask tightly in her hands. Now all they had to do was find the artifact, wherever it was.

“It doesn’t look like there’s anything else here.” Mario sighed.

“There’s got to be some sort of puzzle in here.” Luigi insisted. He glanced anxiously at the statue, fearing the worst. What if it… Was part of the puzzle?

“Hold on now, come here.” Ignis called. He had bent down in front of the structure, looking closely at its carvings. He pointed at a red square tile that seemed different from the rest of the structure’s surface.

“I think it’s like the first puzzle-We have to press buttons all at once. Quick, take a look at the other sides.” He gestured around the structure, and the others did as instructed.

After some fumbling around, the other three found the buttons Ignis had spoken of. Mario pressed his, but nothing happened. As Ignis had said, they had to press them all at once.

“On the count of three…” The magic-user said, his voice suddenly hushed. He didn’t seem sure what the buttons would do, but he was not going to let his doubt stop him.

“One…”

Everyone’s hands hovered over the buttons.

“Two…”

Estelle couldn’t help but glance at the looming statue. Even though it was just a hunk of stone, she couldn’t help but think it gave off an odd aura… She looked up at its face, frowning at its bright blue eyes.

 

Wait. Bright… Blue? They had been pure stone moments ago.

“Guys-” She turned back to the group.

“Three!”

Out of reflex, Estelle pressed her button, and the other three did as well. There was a moment of silence, then the top of the structure began to groan.

The group stood up, watching as a hatch opened in the top of the structure. The sound of grinding stone echoed through the chamber as something rose into view.

“So this is the artifact?” Ignis asked. “I’ll get to sealing it right away, then. Estelle, could you hold this?”

Ignis held out his sphere of fire, making Estelle fumble for a moment. She was hesitant to take it, but then remembered it was just magic. With her free hand, she took the light source, keeping it close so Ignis could see what he was doing. She then remembered what she had seen only moments ago.

“Guys, wait! The statue, it-”

As if on cue, the statue suddenly moved.

Before anyone in the group could do anything, the serpentine figure lashed out, snapping the artifact up in its jaws. In a moment of stunned silence, the dragon tilted its head back, letting the artifact fall down its throat.

“Did it just eat…” Luigi started, too shocked to finish his sentence.

“We have to get out of here!” Ignis cried. He grabbed Luigi’s hand and dashed for the stairs. Mario took Estelle’s hand and was not far behind.

As the group raced their way back through the temple, they could feel the building begin to shake. Cracks appeared in the floors and ceilings, and chunks began to split from the support columns. The dragon gave a mighty roar that echoed through the floors.

 

“What happened in there?!” King Cleave was upon them the second they stepped out into the sunset. He looked frantic, glancing at the temple as it shook.

“The dragon ate the artifact!” Luigi wailed, hopping from one foot to another. “We were gonna seal it away, and then--”

“WHAT?” The king’s eyes widened. “That’s terrible! Y-Your only chance now is… Did you get the mask, at least?”

Estelle nodded, gasping for air. She had not run that fast in a while. As she took deep breaths, she handed the crystal mask to King Cleave, who looked carefully at it. When he was satisfied with its condition, he turned to his son.

“Luster, please.” He urged.

His son, however, didn’t need any convincing. He waddled over to Estelle, handing her the necklace with the Stability Piece on it.

“Use this! It’ll make you strong enough to--”

A giant crash filled the air, and the temple began to crumble. In the roar of stone and the clouds of dust, the familiar serpent burst into the air. It rose several feet into the air before giving a mighty bellow. The group could hear the faint screams of the townsfolk from another part of the city.

“You must waste no time!” Ignis urged Estelle. “Allow me to help, please!”

Estelle nodded, putting the necklace on. Given how her magic only put enemies to sleep, she would need as the help she could get.

As the Stability Piece fell to her chest, she could feel a surge of power. Just as King Cleave had described, it granted immense power. She had been out of breath only seconds before, but now felt fully restored, ready to take on anything.

“Let’s go.” She urged.

 

* * *

 

“Foolish mortals! Now that I have my spirit, I am unstoppable!” The dragon snarled. Estelle and Ingis were chasing it from the ground as it flew over the city. While the dragon was large, it was slow enough that they could keep up at a running pace.

“I can’t say I have good range with my attacks…” Ignis admitted. “Try putting it to sleep!”

Estelle didn’t have to be told twice. She found it easier to gather the magic needed for her attack, and fired it.

The dragon ducked, coiling in the air and making a show of avoiding the projectile. It gave a taunting hiss, then continued flying. As Estelle and Ignis continued chasing it, it swept its tail to the ground.

The dragon’s tail knocked over several trading stalls, sending their wares tumbling. The two magicians were forced to stop, but kept their eyes on the dragon.

“Try again.” Ingis grumbled.

Estelle felt a prickle of irritation towards the other magician, but only for a second. She did not want to be ordered around by some person she had only met that day. He wasn’t helping her learn how to use her magic this time. This time, he was just bossing her around.

Using that frustration, she created another sphere of energy. Watching the dragon’s flight carefully, she threw it.

This time, the attack hit the dragon. It began to wobble in mid-air, quickly losing altitude.

“Thattagirl!” Ignis vaulted over the stall in front of them, and Estelle followed. They watched as the dragon crashed to the ground, sending up massive clouds of blue dust behind a line of neatly-arranged buildings.

“I can’t fly!” The dragon growled when the two magicians arrived. It struggled to rise into the air, but fell back down with a heavy thud. “No matter. I am strongest on the ground!”

With a screech, the dragon stomped into the sand, sending pillars of blue rock toward the two. Estelle ducked one direction, and Ignis dove in the other.

Without thinking, Estelle sent out bursts of blue light. They seemed to fly naturally from her hands. They hit the dragon in bright sparks, making him roar. From the other side of the pillar wall, Estelle could see fireballs flying.

The dragon suddenly rose up, raking its claws forward. Estelle rolled out of the way to dodge, feeling clumps of sand hit her from where she had just been.

“You cannot stop me!” The Adobe Dragon rose up once more, attempting to fly again. Even if it claimed to be stronger on the ground, it obviously preferred the safety of flight. With great effort, it managed to rise into the air. It did not bother to turn back to its attackers, and flew crookedly away.

“We can’t let it get away!” Ignis wailed from behind the rock barrier.

Estelle began to run, focusing all of her attention on the Adobe Dragon. She was so determined to catch up to it, she didn’t notice that she was gaining altitude…Not until people pointed it out, that is.

 

“Look! She’s flying!”

“She really is going to save us!”

“Go Lady Estelle!”

 

Estelle took a moment to look back, only to find the ground was several meters below. She gave a yelp, stumbling in the air, before realizing she was in no danger of falling.

Was this because of the Stability Piece?

“You little whelp!” Came the dragon’s roar. It had turned back to face Estelle, still struggling to stay in the air. “I’ll swat you out of the sky for trying to stop me!”

The Adobe Dragon opened its maw and charged for Estelle, who flailed in panic. At the last second, she threw up her arms, covering her face.

There was a rough push, sending her tumbling a few feet back, but otherwise, she was unharmed. When she removed her arms, she saw that she had summoned a large white panel, which the dragon had crashed into. As the dragon recovered from the collision, the panel flickered away.

“You magicians are all the same! Thinking you can contain me with petty magic like that! Well… I defeated the queen… I can defeat a little brat like you!” The dragon gave a mighty roar before diving towards Estelle.

Estelle knew she had to stop the dragon. A shield would only hold it back for a few more seconds. She had to defeat it, here and now.

Blue magic covered her right fist, crackling with energy. She waited one moment. Two moments. The Dragon was only a few meters away now. Without hesitating, she pulled her fist back, then--

**_POW!_ **

Her punch collided with the dragon’s snout, sending chips of adobe flying. The dragon stopped moving, and hung in the air, motionless. Blue sparks traveled down the dragon’s form, illuminating cracks that had started to spread.

Before Estelle’s eyes, the dragon slowly crumbled, its shards falling to the ground many feet below. Soon, the shall of the dragon was gone, leaving only the form of the artifact. Before Estelle could reach for it, it fell to the ground as well, shattering into countless pieces.

Estelle was stunned. She did not expect it to be that easy. Her shock was so great, it took her a moment to realize three things were happening.

One, her hand was throbbing. She had punched a dragon made out of stone. Even with magic, there was no doubt that it was injured.

Two, the townsfolk were cheering. A faint roar of applause and cries of joy reached her ears, signaling the city had seen her feat.

 

Three… She was falling.

 

Estelle snapped back into focus, letting out a scream as she was losing altitude. She closed her eyes, preparing for the impact, but merely found herself rattled when somebody caught her.

“You alright there?”

Ignis grinned from underneath his hood, trying to find his balance after catching Estelle.

Estelle managed to nod, still a little stunned from what had happened. She held her head, closing her eyes.

“That’s good. Because now I can get what I came for!”

Ignis set Estelle on the ground, then grabbed the necklace with the Stability Piece. With a quick tug, it snapped away from Estelle’s neck.

“Wh-Hey!” She managed, trying to stand up. Ignis backed up a few paces, still grinning.

 

“Estelle, you did it!” Mario cried, appearing from the crowd that had suddenly gathered. It was hard to hear him over the chatter. Luigi and King Cleave were not far behind, both smiling wide.

“Ignis… He-” Estelle pointed at the other magician, but couldn’t get any other words out. She felt dizzy, but… Why?

“Give that back!” The king ordered, stomping to Ignis. The fanged magician didn’t seem intimidated, however.

“You really should learn not to trust miracles, you know! Come on, a strange who just happens to be the last person you need? That reeks of suspicion if you ask me!” Ignis chortled.

The air around him shimmered, and he was replaced by an all-too-familiar figure. It was Fabula, grinning widely, his arms spread out wide.

“Wh-what?! Fabula?” King Cleave cried. “Wh-Why?”

“Ooh, so you know me?” Fabula asked, tilting his head. “Well I’m afraid I don’t know you. Memories and all that junk.” He shrugged with one pair of his arms. “Can’t say I have time to catch up, either! I’ll be going now! Ciao!”

 

In a puff of pink smoke, the four-armed being vanished, leaving the crowd stunned. Only seconds passed before the silence was covered up by panicked chatter.

“Everyone, calm down! The Stability Piece, it…” King Cleave turned back to the adventuring trio, looking at a loss.

“It’s my fault.” Estelle managed. “I…” She couldn’t get the energy to speak. Everything around her was spinning.

“What’s wrong?” Luigi asked.

“It’s because Fabula took the Stability Piece from her. The Stability Piece amplifies one’s magic power, but if one uses too much, and does not give time for the Stability Piece to recover it… It will take a toll on the user.” King Cleave answered.

Luigi attempted to take Estelle’s hand, but she pulled it away in pain. She wouldn’t be surprised if it actually broke during the strike.

“Bring her to the palace.” King Cleave urged. “She needs rest, and it’s going to get dark soon. You cannot continue your journey in this condition.”

* * *

 

Estelle wasn’t sure how long she had been out, but when she woke up, the sun was high in the sky. She was resting in a bed next to a window, where light was shining through.

She slowly sat up, looking around. Other than her bed, the room was empty. Was this in the palace? She could barely remember what had happened after defeating the dragon.

Estelle tried to slide out of bed, but winced as pain shot up her arm. She looked at her right hand, finding it covered with a white cast. So it _was_ broken.

Taking this new information into account, Estelle made her way out of the bed, and walked to the other side of the room. She placed her good hand on the door handle, but paused. She could heard a muffled conversation on the other side.

 

“Miss, I know you two were friends, but I regret to say she isn’t taking visitors right now.”

It was an older voice, with a gentle tone to it. Estelle focused, then recognized it as King Cleave’s.

“But… I just need to know Stelly’s okay! It’s been three days!”

Feminine… Piercing at times… Shard?

“I am well aware. But she has not woken up yet. If she wakes up and wishes to see you, I will send a mess-”

“No! What if she decides to leave before I say goodbye!? Like last time? I can’t let that happen! I have something to give her, anyway!”

 

At this, Estelle pushed the door open. She took careful steps into the hallway, looking towards the voices. King Cleave and Shard had been arguing at the end of the hallway, but stopped when Estelle appeared.

“STELLY!” Shard squealed, hurrying over to her. She made sure not to tackle her friend this time, but still put hands on her shoulders.

“You’re awake! Are you alright? You didn’t lose any more of your memories, did you?”

Estelle didn’t respond to Shard’s questioning, but looked to King Cleave.

“Um… Where are Mario and Luigi? We… We need to get going soon.” She mumbled.

“They went to explore some of the city. I can send somebody for them, if you’d like.” He suggested. Estelle nodded, and the king excused himself. Once it was just her and Estelle, Shard frowned.

 

“You’re already leaving? Stelly, you’ve only just woke up!”

Estelle shrugged, still a little spaced out. She had been out for three days, so she didn’t feel fully awake yet.

“We’ve got to stop Fabula. He’s stealing the Stability Pieces of other dimensions. We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”

Shard let go of Estelle, giving her a melancholy look, before nodding.

“Right. Then… I should give you this. You’re not going to stick around long enough for an explanation, so just take it.”

Shard produced a photograph and handed it to Estelle. While the magician was looking at it, Shard gave a wave, then walked away. She rounded a corner, then was gone.

Estelle didn’t seem to notice Shard’s exit, however, because she was too stunned by what was on the photograph.

“Estelle!” A sudden cry broke her from her stare, and she quickly folded the photo up. Mario and Luigi were hurrying down the hall to her. Mario was bright and chipper as always, but Luigi seemed rather exhausted. He still smiled, however, when the duo reached their friend.

“Are you ready to go?” Estelle asked, wasting no time.

“Um, sure…” Mario said, suddenly looking concerned. He glanced at Luigi, who shrugged. “Ready when you are.”

“One thing, before you go.” King Cleave called, walking up to the group.

“I have told Mario and Luigi about Fabula, so that you may be prepared for more of his tricks. Please, Estelle, promise me you’ll take the time to listen to what I have told them.”

Estelle would have frowned, had she had a mouth. She gave a quick nod, wanting to be off. The more time they wasted, the more likely it was Fabula would get another Stability Piece.

“Very well. I wish you all luck.” King Cleave nodded his head.

The trio then held hands (though Mario had to take gentle hold of Estelle’s wrist, due to her broken hand), and were enveloped in light. When the light faded, they were gone.

“How could it have come to this?” King Cleave asked himself as he turned away and walked down the hallway. “Fabula… I hope this is merely because you lack your memories…”

 

* * *

 

“There you are, Fabula! I was beginning to worry you had run into trouble.” Dimentio said as the four-armed magician appeared.

“Not at all, sir.” Fabula replied, tossing the Stability Piece to Dimentio. The smaller magician caught it with ease, not once letting his smile fade.

“But… ?”

“Oh, um, what?” Fabula mumbled, caught off-guard by Dimentio’s prompt.

“There’s something else you want to say, isn’t there? Something you’d like to bring up?”

Fabula looked away for a moment, wringing all four of his hands, then nodded. It had been on his mind for a while.

“I’ve run into the same group of people… In all three dimensions I’ve been to so far.”

“All three… The odds of that are simply astronomical. Who, by chance, are you running into?”

“Uh… A man dressed in red, named Mario. His brother, dressed in green, named Luigi… And a girl who looks like she’s made of the night sky… Called Estelle.”

 

At this, Dimentio went silent. For the first time since Fabula met him, he frowned. It was very discomforting to see him frown, as he wore a smile no matter what.

“Red and green, you say?” Was all Dimentio mumbled.

“Are they important?” Fabula suddenly asked.

“Oh?” Dimentio smiled again, snapping from his thoughts. “What do you mean?”

“When I disguised myself and traveled with them… I kept getting the feeling like I knew the girl… Like I wanted to keep her safe. But I couldn’t remember why.”

“Is that so…” Dimentio rocked back and forth in the air, still thinking about this information.

“Could it be ‘her?’” Fabula asked, causing Dimentio to stand at attention again.

“Well… Let me ask you this.” Dimentio said, his mind working quickly. “You know that I’m doing all I can to find your mask and return your memories, right? Because you lost your mask.”

“Right. And in return, I’m finding the Stability Pieces for you.”

“This girl, she didn’t have a mask, did she?”

“Not at all. We were tasked to find a mask, but… It wasn’t hers.”

“And you’ve encountered them in the same dimensions, around the time you find the Stability Pieces, right? In the very same places as the Stability Pieces, I believe!”

“That’s right. They try and tell people I’m going to steal them… When I’m just borrowing them, like you told me!” Fabula nodded.

 

“Oh dear…” Dimentio frowned again, this time looking more stunned. “I think I know what’s going on, then.”

“What?” Fabula asked, clenching his fists.

“These men, the ones dressed in red and green… They are taking advantage of Estelle’s lost memories. They are using her powers to travel to different dimensions… And steal the Stability Pieces! For what purpose, I don’t know… They’re probably spreading the rumor of you stealing them to get on people’s good sides.” Dimentio said with a sigh.

“I hate to say it, but I’ve had experience with these two men.” He continued. “They care nothing about the plight of others. They actually stopped one of my plans… And I was so close to achieving my goal.”

“That sounds horrible. I… I need to go save her!” Fabula took a step, but Dimentio called out to him.

“Fabula, I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’s been safe so far, but what do you think’s going to happen if you attack them out of the blue? Well, you can probably say goodbye to Estelle.”

Fabula stopped, looking very scared. He had not thought of that. Before Dimentio’s eyes, his pink colors slowly faded into a sky blue, and the feathers on his head drooped down. He now looked like he had when Dimentio first met him.

“Then… What am I supposed to do?” He whispered.

“You keep finding Stability Pieces.” Dimentio said floating over to the larger magician. “I will see what I can do regarding Estelle, alright?”

Fabula stared at Dimentio for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright.”

 

“Oh, and one more thing before you go. If you do happen to run into those men again… Don’t hurt them, but bring them back here.”

Fabula nodded, then twirled away, vanishing in his signature smoke puff, this time blue.

Dimentio stayed in place for a moment, thinking.

“Ah, how everything becomes connected again.” He sighed. “It seems life is begging for an encore.”

  
“Well, who am I to deny it? There’s just one more thing I need to do… Then the stage will be set!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just what is Dimentio up to...  
> \---  
> sORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. BUT I DID IT. Updates should be a bit more frequent now, as this was the only really major hump of the story. I'm hyped for everything else, so it should get churned out quicker.
> 
> do you like my Egg Mummy
> 
> ALSO who wants to keep track of how many times Estelle falls over because I'm warning you--It keeps happening.


	5. Oh No

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jUST A LITTLE NOOOOTE there's gonna be an image with a bit of. Blood.  
> It's like Dangan Ronpa in which it's bright pink BUT just so you're aware and wanna keep it in mind...

* * *

 

 

The trio opened their eyes and found themselves in an expanse of white. Cold wind whipped at their faces, and they soon realized the white was snow.

“It’s freezing!” Mario muttered, rubbing his shoulders. First they had to endure a desert, now a blizzard?

“We should find shelter, and fast.” Estelle urged.

The group huddled up and began to make their way through the storm. With the thick flurry blocking most of their vision, it was hard to tell if they had made any progress at all.

 

After walking for what felt like hours, they reached a line of tall pine trees. The ground underneath their branches seemed to be protected from the snow, so the group stopped underneath them.

“The storm doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.” Estelle said, trembling. The throbbing pain that had been present in her hand was now a faint numbness due to the cold.

“Let’s stop here then.” Luigi mumbled, teeth chattering. He didn’t wait for a reply and sat down against a tree trunk.

“A shame Ignis--Er...” Mario began, but then realized what he was saying. He was going to say ‘A shame Ignis isn’t here to help with his fire magic,’ but after Ignis had revealed himself to be Fabula...

Estelle gave him a stony look, then went down to sit under her own tree. Mario remained standing, looking out into the bright flurry. He was antsy, but didn’t want to force travel if the other two didn’t want to go.

“It’s nothing against you.” Estelle finally said. “I’m just still a little ashamed I let him get the Stability Piece.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it.” Mario assured her. “I’ve been tricked a few times, myself.” He admitted with a chuckle.

Estelle tilted her head, then nodded slowly.

 

“About what King Cleave told me before we left…” She then said, bringing out the photo Shard had given her. She looked at it carefully, then held it out for Mario to take.

Mario walked over, then sat down next to Estelle. He took the photo.

“This is you and Fabula, right?” He suddenly asked, catching Estelle off-guard.

“You know?” She asked, turning to him.

“King Cleave told us about it while you were unconscious.” Mario explained. “Fabula had brought you to the dimension to practice magic, and during that period, you managed to defeat the Adobe Dragon for the first time.”

“That means… Fabula is my mentor?”

“Yes.”

“Then… What’s he doing without his mask? Where even is his mask?” She asked.

“King Cleave was unsure of that himself. ‘Fabula isn’t the type to lose track of something like that,’ he said. He also said Fabula wouldn’t be stealing the Stability Pieces if he had his memories.”

Estelle sighed, rubbing her forehead. She wished she could think of some way to explain Fabula’s behavior, but… Without her memories, she barely knew who he was. Whenever the name 'Fabula' was said, she felt a surge of familiarity, but... Nothing clear came to her.

“We need to stop Fabula the next time he appears. We can’t just let him teleport away like he’s been doing!” Mario said.

“How are we supposed to do that, though?” Estelle asked dejectedly.

Mario opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he realized he had nothing. He looked around for a moment, trying to come up with something, then bit his lip when his attempts had failed.

 

“But I have a question.” Estelle asked, suddenly remembering something. “Back in the forested dimension, Luigi told us he had heard Fabula saying ‘ciao’ before leaving. Twice. And he did it again in the kingdom. Why is that so significant? 'Ciao' is a common farewell.”

Mario was silent for a moment, glancing to Luigi. His brother made no move to stop him, so he began to explain.

“'Ciao' was kind of something Dimentio would say. A lot. You’re right in it being common, so he’s probably fussing over nothing, but… It could imply Fabula has interacted with Dimentio at one point.” He frowned.

Estelle looked away. She didn’t make it clear, but she had felt a surge of anger when Mario had suggested that. Something deep in her told her Fabula was not like that. He wouldn’t be working with somebody like Dimentio!

… Right?

“Whether he has or not though,” Mario said, breaking the uneasy silence. “I think we still need to come up with a plan to stop him.”

“Luigi, any ideas?” He asked, turning to his brother, who still sat under the tree across from them.

Luigi remained still, not giving any sign that he had heard his brother. His cap hung low over his eyes, and looked as if he were asleep, but wore a troubled expression.

“Uh… Luigi?” Mario said tentatively. After another moment of silence, he stood up and carefully walked over to his brother. He removed the green cap, revealing a flushed face.

 

“Oh, Stars!” Mario cried, dropping the photo he had been holding. He quickly removed one of his gloves, then felt Luigi’s forehead with the back of his hand.

“He has a fever.” The red-clad plumber mumbled. “I told him not to push himself…”

“This weather isn’t doing much to help, either.” Estelle commented, shuddering as a cold wind swept through. “We need to find better shelter than this. I haven’t recovered enough to teleport again, either.”

“I… I think I can…” Mario put his glove back on and looked around, a bit frantic. He then stared out into the field of snow, considering his options.

“I can go out and look for help.” He finally said. “There has to be somebody out there. I don’t think Luigi can be moved right now, though.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Estelle offered.

Mario paused, thinking things over. He was anxious to leave his friend and brother behind, but… Luigi needed to get to someplace safe, or else his condition would get worse…

“I’ll try to return before it gets dark, whether I’ve found someplace or not.” He promised.

 

Estelle nodded, then watched as Mario charged out into the snow. When his footsteps faded into silence, she leaned back against the tree she was sitting under.

Exhaustion flooded over her, and she finally let it show. Her eyes drooped, and her body went slack. The pain in her arm poked through the numbness, if only a little.

Using the Stability Piece had indeed taken a large amount of energy from her. Estelle had struggled to stay conscious the past few hours, as she didn’t want people to think she was still feeling bad. Even before using the Stability Piece--Using magic and teleporting across the various dimensions--She had been tired.

“But… They’re counting on me.” She mumbled to herself. Mario and Luigi had explained what would happen to their dimension if it went too long without its Stability Piece. Now, other dimensions were missing their Pieces. Whether or not the Bros. could get them back in time relied entirely on her ability to transport them.

Now she was supposed to stay awake and watch Luigi… But… The draw of sleep was too strong. As much as she struggled to snap them back open, her eyelids kept closing…

Soon, darkness pulled her under.

 

* * *

 

Estelle found herself surrounded by blackness. She inhaled sharply, feeling the familiar prickle of anxiety rise up her spine.

She had felt this earlier, in the city. That feeling when… Everyone was watching her.

Estelle never had dreams. She wasn’t sure why, but when she slept, she either had periods of stillness… Or nightmares.

This nightmare was a familiar one. As she focused on trying to control her breathing, the eyes appeared.

Bright red, staring right at her, they opened, one by one. As time went on, they opened faster and faster. Soon, the entire void was filled with eyes staring at her.

“Don’t look at me.” She mumbled, knowing that nobody would hear her.

The eyes did not respond, as expected. They continued staring, unblinking.

Estelle could feel their piercing gazes, analyzing every inch of her body. They were inspecting her. Judging her. How did she know this? She was unsure. She just had a feeling.

Nausea flooded over Estelle. She fell to her knees, holding her head. They were waiting for her to slip up. To lash out and prove that they were right. She might as well get it over with.

“STOP STARING AT ME!” She screamed, her voice echoing into the blackness. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

 

As if scripted, the eyes began to close in. Closer, closer, closer. Finally, a voice began to filter through them.

_“You won’t find them…”_

_“Without your memories, you’re nothing.”_

_“Not that you were anything in the first place.”_

_“When you add zero to zero, you still have zero. When you get your memories back, you’ll still be a purposeless brat.”_

Estelle was beginning to shake. She felt a cold touch on her cheek, and swung a hand at it, touching nothing.

**_“GO AWAY!”_ **

 

* * *

 

Estelle’s eyes flung open. She found herself sideways, the right side of her face pressed against the cold ground beneath her.

She pushed herself back up, her face scrunching up in pain as her hand reacted to movement. She looked over to Luigi, who had not moved from his earlier position.

She glanced out to the snowy field, wondering what time it was. The blizzard had stopped, letting the clear night sky become visible. Mario should have been back by now, but he was nowhere to be found.

Estelle stood up, a bit shaky, then made her way over to Luigi. She was unsure if she felt any better after the nap. Cold air still whipped around and nipped at her face.

She reached out her good hand and used it to judge Luigi’s temperature. It still felt hot, but it did not look as flushed as it had been. Perhaps the cold air had done a bit of good.

“Won’t do good for long.” Estelle sighed. “If we’re not careful, that fever will turn into hypothermia.”

Estelle was about to go back to her original spot, when--

 

“Well, that’s no good.”

 

The voice was faint, and it drifted from deeper into the forest. Estelle noticed Luigi shift a bit in his sleep, putting her on alert.

“Who’s there?” She called. She waited a couple of moments, but was met with no response. She looked at Luigi again, who had not moved an inch. Should she risk it and see who was out there?

“They might be able to help.” She managed, standing up. Assuring herself of this fact, she decided to leave Luigi, if only for a short while.

Estelle walked slowly, listening for the voice, but it did not speak again. Luckily, the forest seemed to have a pretty clear path. If she wanted to turn back, she did not have to worry about getting lost.

She finally came upon a circular clearing, which only had a fine layer of snow on  the ground.

“That’s no good at all.”

 

Her head snapped up, realizing the voice was coming from above her. It took her a moment to locate the speaker, but once she found him, it was hard not to miss him.

The small figure was a man cloaked in purple and yellow. It stood out against the dark green leaves, so Estelle could carefully track him as he floated down to the ground.

“How am I supposed to find her with all these trees in the way?” He asked the open air.

“Excuse me?” Estelle asked cautiously. The figure stood upright at the sound of her voice, then turned to face her. She could see the man was wearing a mask-half black, half white. The most distinguishing feature of the mask was the fact a big pink smile was visible on it.

This made her consider something: Could he be a Masked Magician, too?

“Oh, so there are people here! I was worried I had stumbled on an uninhabited dimension. But what do you know, I found who I was looking for right off the bat!” He said with a slight chuckle.

“Who are… You were looking for me?” Estelle asked, not moving from where she was standing.

“Why, of course!” He replied, but then paused. “You… Are Estelle, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes, but how did you know my name? How do you even know who I am?”

“Because… Well, I was tasked with finding you.”

Estelle stepped back a couple of feet, immediately cautious.

At this, the stranger seemed a bit surprised, and he frowned, but only for a brief moment. He then sighed, shrugging.

 

“My mistake! Right, right, you don’t have your mask, so you don’t remember who I am.” He looked a bit melancholic, but still spoke. “But you don’t have to worry about that. All that matters is that you’ve been found and we can get you back home!”

“B-Back home?” Estelle’s eyes widened, surprised by this offer. She could… Go back home? Now? But…

“What about Fabula? He… He lost his mask as well. Are you looking for him, too?”

“Fabula…” The stranger sighed. “He is a different case. Because of his power, he is much more likely to, ah, do something wrong if provoked. With him collecting the Stability Pieces and all, there’s not much that can be done at the moment. But we’re working on a plan.”

That was somewhat understandable. He had managed to get the Stability Pieces wherever the group had gone, after all. Estelle knew the power of the Piece first-hand. Fabula, memories or not, had the potential to do a lot with them.

“I see.” She finally said, folding her hands together.

“I have a few others traveling with me, they will take care of your companions and send them back home.” The stranger said without prompt, making Estelle blink. She had just been about to ask if leaving the brothers right now would be alright.

“Then… It’s alright if I just leave? Stop trying to get the Stability Pieces back?” She asked, wanting to be absolutely sure.

While she remembered nothing of where she had come from, the appeal of going back to it seemed overwhelming. Years spent randomly teleporting, and now here was her chance to stop. Perhaps her mask could be found, too!

Mario and Luigi had been good friends through the journey so far, but as long as they were safe, she saw little trouble in leaving without a goodbye. She had left many places without so much as a second glance, after all…

 

“Yes. Come, now! Everyone’s waiting! Let’s say ciao to this frozen wasteland.” The strange held out a hand, grinning as widely as ever.

Estelle was about to step forward and take it, when something caught her attention.

The stranger had said _‘ciao.’_

She would have frowned if she had a mouth, but she settled for narrowing her eyes. Mario had told her earlier that that was…

“Well, thank you, uh… Um… I don’t believe I caught your name.” She said, trying to brush off her hesitation.

The stranger stared at her for a moment, still smiling, then slowly lowered his hand. He continued to stare at her, letting several moments pass in an uneasy silence. Finally, he gave a soft chuckle and scratched the side of his head.

“Ah, seems I couldn’t help myself. How silly of me.” He looked straight at Estelle, not changing his expression, but changing his tone to a much fiercer one.

“You already know who I am, don’t you?”

 

Estelle clenched her fists, ignoring the pain in her broken one, and took a step back, immediately on edge. So it _was_ him.

“Dimentio.” She managed, her voice catching in her throat. She was much more afraid than she wanted to let on. After what the brothers had told her about him, she knew he was not to be underestimated.

Estelle focused her energy, trying to summon anything she could use to attack him: Energy burst, sleep spell--Whatever worked.

“Let’s not waste time like that.” Dimentio hissed. He let Estelle struggle, still weak from earlier, then raised a hand. With concentrated precision, he snapped his fingers.

Almost instantly, pain shot through Estelle’s body.

She looked down at her abdomen, where two spikes had suddenly protruded. Bright pink blood was quickly pouring from the wound, and she began to feel light-headed. She took a shaky step, then cried out at the pain.

 

Estelle fell to the ground, and the magical spikes dissipated. As she hit the snow, her vision began to fade, but not before she noticed something… Odd. All the trees at the edge of the clearing, they seemed to… Get bigger.

“What have we here? Seems somebody has an emergency dormant form in case something happens to them!” Dimentio chuckled, walking over to her. He stopped in front of her and waited a moment, then picked up the small form she had become. "Well, isn't that just adorable!"

“I was kind of counting on you just dying, but… I can work with this.” He said, completely aware Estelle was in no condition to respond.

“Well, then. Shall we go now?”

As Estelle slipped into unconsciousness once more, she could feel the familiar tug of traveling through dimensions.

She would be unable to find out where they were going, however, as her vision went dark. Reduced to nothing but a ball of mist, all she could do was sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe Estelle is fucking dead.
> 
> \---
> 
> ANYWAY, sorry about this late update! I found it hard to wrap my head around the discussions, AND I finally got Pokemon Sun/Moon (like two weeks after everyone else), so that became my life for a bit.
> 
> I'm doing a December art challenge and I'm already 9 days behind, so I dunno how soon the next chapter will be up, sorry!


	6. Chalcedony

* * *

 

“Hello? Anybody out there?” Mario called into the storm. He rubbed his shoulders and squinted, trying to see through the flurry. He had been walking for a couple of hours, and was starting to feel numb all over. The snow had thinned out slightly, but it was still difficult to see more than a few feet in front of him.

He glanced up at the sky, seeing that it had grown much darker. If he wanted to get back to Luigi and Estelle before nightfall, he would have to turn around now. The snow wasn’t sticking very well, so he could still see the footprints he had left. All he had to do was follow them back.

Deciding it was the best course of action, he pivoted and began to walk back. Hopefully the pair had found better shelter, and were feeling better.

* * *

 

Mario had been walking about twenty minutes when he paused. He could have sworn he heard something. He took a moment to look around, but all he saw was the same white expanse he had seen before.

That was… Odd.

Still wary, he took a few cautious steps, careful not to make any noise. Then, only seconds after he had stopped moving, he heard it: Crunching snow a few yards behind him.

He whipped around, not sure what to expect.

In the distance stood a small creature, unlike anything Mario had seen. It stared at him with its bright pink eyes, looking startled at having been caught. When it realized Mario wasn’t going to attack it, it bolted away into the snow.

“Hey, wait!” Mario cried, attempting to run after it. The creature had vanished into the whiteness, so his sprint was short-lived. He clenched his fist in frustration. It might have been able to help them!

He then sighed, knowing it would be pointless to try and look for it. He would just get lost, and cause the other two to worry about him.

Turning back once more, he resumed his journey back to the trees.

* * *

 

“I’m back!” He said, stepping into the shade of the trees. It was clearly night now. Though he was a little late, Mario was sure the other two would forgive him.

He saw that Luigi was still asleep, but looked less red in the face. That could be a sign his fever was starting to break, which filled Mario with relief.

“Estelle, I-” He turned to where Estelle had been sitting when he had left, only to find nobody there. The spot she had occupied was empty, with only disturbed snow hinting that anyone had been there in the first place.

Mario paused, not expecting this. Estelle had promised to keep an eye on Luigi, so… Where did she go?

“Estelle?” He called, assuming she might have wandered off. He heard no response, then shifted his view. It was then that he noticed the footprints leading deeper into the forest.

Perhaps she went on a small walk or something, he assured himself. He decided to catch up to her and let her know he was there, so he quickly followed the prints.

 

As he went deeper, it got darker, making it harder to make the path out. He was quickly reprieved, however, when he came to a clear area. Looking around, it was obvious that Estelle wasn’t there… But there were no other footprints. Where could she have gone?

A cold feeling flooded Mario, and it wasn’t from the wintery weather. What if Estelle had gone to another dimension without them? Would she really do that?

 _No, you’re overthinking things!_ He assured himself. _She has to be around here somewhere._

It was then he shifted his attention back to the ground. He hadn’t noticed it when he first arrived, but a detail now stood out to him: There was a pink patch on the ground.

He made a few cautious steps towards the patch, not sure what to make of it at first. When a metallic smell reached him, however, he realized what it was. Blood.

 

Something had happened to Estelle.

 

Mario hurriedly made his way out of the clearing, making a beeline for where he had left Luigi. Whether his brother felt good or not, he had to wake him up and--

“Huh?”

He froze in place. He had reached Luigi, but something stopped him. Standing next to his brother was the creature from before. It looked Luigi over for a moment, then noticed Mario, jumping in surprise.

The pair were at a standstill for several minutes, letting the snowflakes tumble around them in silence.

It was the creature who spoke first.

“Is he sick?”

Mario didn’t expect the creature to speak, so it took him a moment to respond. He gripped at his hat absentmindedly, then nodded.

The creature turned back to Luigi for a moment, thinking things over. When it looked at Mario again, its face was one of determination.

“Follow Tromp. Tromp will take you home, where it’s warmer.”

Stunned by the creature’s gesture, Mario could only stare at it. When the creature gestured for him to hurry up, he finally walked over to Luigi, pulling him to his feet and draping him over his shoulder.

He glanced down on the ground, noticing something. It was the photo of Estelle and Fabula he had dropped earlier. The wet snow had warped the image slightly, but it was still recognizable. He scooped it up and shoved it in his pocket before following the creature, which had already starting walking away.

 

The creature, apparently named Tromp, picked up speed. It seemed aware of the weight Mario was carrying, however, because it never left his field of view. He did his best to keep up as he supported his brother, who was (miraculously) still fast asleep.

“Tromp apologizes for running away earlier!” Tromp called back. “Poppa says nobody else lives here, so Tromp was scared!”

“Understandable, honestly.” Mario admitted. “I’m sorry if I freaked you out.”

“No worries! Tromp isn’t bothered by it!”

 

Tromp slowed down, and Mario finally had a chance to catch up. He realized they were outside a large, wooden cabin, covered in snow. Pale yellow light filtered out from the windows. Amazed he wasn’t able to locate it earlier, he looked it over. Next to the frontmost window was a blue door with a hatch set into it.

“Tromp too short to reach the knob, but likes playing outside a lot.” Tromp explained. “So Poppa made this door for her! Wait here!” Before Mario could respond, Tromp slid through the hatch and vanished inside the cabin. He could hear her loud footsteps patter away, shortly followed by a muffled exchange.

It was a minute before the footsteps returned, this time with softer companions. The door in front of Mario swung open, revealing the interior of the home and its inhabitants.

Mario was surprised, to say the least. He hadn’t expected to encounter something so familiar, so far from home. But there, right in front of him, was a Beanish!

 

“Well, do you want to get inside where it’s warm, or do you want him to get worse?” The Beanish suddenly barked, snapping Mario back to reality. “Get him on the couch over there.” He gestured inside, and Mario managed to follow his instructions.

He brought Luigi over to the couch that had been indicated and laid him down, making sure his head rested on one of the pillows.

“Tromp, see if you can find a spare blanket.” The Beanish said from behind. When Mario turned around, his host pointed at him. “You stay there.”

Mario, a little intimidated, sat in front of the couch, having nowhere else to light down. The Beanish hurried off to another room, followed by Tromp, leaving Mario alone to take in the decor.

Aside from basic wooden furniture, the floor was barren. A side table sat next to the couch, covered in papers. When Mario lifted his gaze, he was befuddled at what greeted him.

Covering the walls were a variety of colorful masks. Some were dusty or chipped, while others seemed freshly-made. All the masks began to remind him of Estelle, and panic creeped up his back again.

 

The Beanish then walked back into the room, holding two mugs. He set one down on the side table, in-between the haphazard papers, then walked over to Mario, forcing the second one into his hands. It was only then Mario realized how cold he had been, and was thankful for something warm. Giving the mug a careful sniff, the calming scent of tea filled his nostrils.

“So just who are you?” The Beanish asked, wasting no time. Mario took a moment to enjoy a couple sips of the tea before answering, not flinching at the stern gaze he was receiving. The Beanish had folded his arms, as was looking anything but hospitable.

“My name is Mario. This is my brother, Luigi.” Mario answered. The host let the answer hang in the air for a moment, then carefully relaxed his stance. His gaze softened, but Mario could still sense a bit of hostility.

“Are we, uh, intruding or anything?” He asked.

The Beanish shook his head. “No, do not worry. Actually, you are quite lucky. As far as I know, Tromp and I are the only ones in this dimension. Had you not encountered Tromp, you may not have lasted much longer.”

“You say you’re the only ones here, but… What’s a Beanish like you doing in a dimension like this? You come from the Beanbean Kingdom.”

At this, the Beanish scowled. Apparently Mario had struck a nerve.

“For your information, I’m only _half_ Beanish.”

Mario blinked, trying to process the information. So then, he--Oh! Looking at the host, he finally realized why he was wearing a mask.

“You’re a Masked Magician, then?”

The host nodded, satisfied with Mario’s conclusion.

“My name is Chalcedony. However, I’m not good with long names. So I usually go by Chalk.” He then frowned, looking confused. “But how do you know about Masked Magicians? Are you traveling with one? That’s the only way you could have ended up here… Aside from falling in a portal, I suppose.”

“Yes, actually.” Mario answered, frowning as well as he remembered Estelle. “But… She’s vanished. I don’t know what happened. She was with Luigi when I went to look for help, but was gone when I came back.”

 

As he spoke, Mario produced the photo from his pocket and handed it to Chalk. Chalk looked carefully at the picture, his brow furrowing. He began to bite his knuckle, obviously set off by it.

“She doesn’t have her mask, does she?” He suddenly asked.

“Uh, no, she apparently lost it before we met her, and-”

“Pardon me.” Chalk said, turning around and leaving the room.

Not expecting the abrupt end to the conversation, Mario was left with his thoughts once more. He carefully coaxed more of the tea into him, happy to regain feeling in his body. A few moments later, Tromp padded into the room, a bundle of blankets balanced on her head.

Mario stood up and helped her drape the blankets over Luigi. Once he was sure his brother was adequately covered, he sat back down again. Tromp decided to nestle on top of the sleeping plumber, but was careful not to move around too much.

 

“Poppa just sort of walked out on you, huh?” Tromp said. “It’s probably because that picture reminded him of something.”

Mario raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything at first.

“You saw how Poppa’s mask was damaged, right? Only half of it is there? Poppa told Tromp that damaged masks make Magicians have bad memories. He’s very forgetful, but stuff like pictures and notes help him remember stuff.”

“Do you know how his mask got damaged?” Mario asked.

Tromp shook her head. “It was like that before he found Tromp, and Tromp never really asked.”

“He found you?”

“As an egg!” Tromp smiled. “He found Tromp as an egg outside, and when it hatched, Tromp came out! Poppa thinks Tromp is a creature of this dimension, but… He’s never run into others like Tromp.”

 

Suddenly, Luigi began to shift underneath Tromp. The creature hopped off of him, and stood beside Mario. The pair waited as Luigi sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“Hm… Are we… Back home?” Luigi mumbled, still half-asleep.

Mario removed his glove and felt Luigi’s forehead again. It now felt much cooler, and his face was back to its normal complexion.

“Are you doing alright?” He asked, putting his glove back on. Luigi nodded, then froze when he caught sight of Tromp.

“Who’s that? Wh-where are we?” Luigi started looking around the room, clearly unnerved by the masks on the wall.

“It’s alright!” Mario assured his brother. “I was able to find somebody who would help, and now we’re someplace warm.” He then gestured to the mug Chalk had left on the side table, obviously meant for Luigi. It would have cooled by now, but Luigi would still benefit from it.

 

As Luigi drank his tea, Mario caught him up on what had happened while he was asleep. He explained how he had found Tromp, and how she had guided him to Chalk. When he reached the part about Estelle, however…

“What?! She’s MISSING?” Luigi almost choked on a sip of tea, and spent a good minute coughing. Of all the things to happen, this had to be one of the worst! Now they had no way of moving between dimensions!

“I showed Chalk that picture, but he wandered off.” Mario sighed. “I don’t know what he’s thinking, but Tromp believes it reminded him of something.”

 

“That’s because it did.” Chalk said, walking back into the room. He nodded at Luigi in greeting, then handed the photo back to Mario.

“The photo reminded me of something because I happen to have that something in my home.” He added gravely. From under his cloak, he produced something that sent Mario and Luigi into a stupor.

“That’s… Estelle’s mask.” Mario managed. There was no mistaking it. It was the same mask in the photo, though clearly damaged and stained with dried pink blood.

“Why do you have that?” Luigi asked, sounding hostile. If Chalk had the mask, that didn’t seem good. Had he attacked her or stolen it?

“Please, calm down.” Chalk sighed. “I don’t believe I have explained to you what it is I do. Once I have, you will know how I happen to be in possession of this mask.”

* * *

 

“My unique abilities have to do with memories. A tad ironic, yes, since I don’t have the best memory myself, but I can still do a lot--Even with a broken mask. Specifically, I can take the mask of another Magician and see their memories, something otherwise impossible.

“All the masks you see here,” He said, gesturing to the walls. “Are ones that have lost their owners. I use my ability to try and determine who the owner is, and then return it to them. Sometimes I go out to other dimensions to find more lost masks. However, no matter how hard I try, it seems I gather more than return.”

“So do you know how Estelle lost her mask?” Mario asked.

Chalk shook his head. “I’ve never had the chance to look at this mask. Frankly, I forgot I even had it… But when I saw that picture, it reminded me.”

“Well, isn’t this just great.” Luigi mumbled. “First we have Estelle, but no mask. Now we have the mask, but no Estelle!”

“I have a bad feeling something might have happened to her, actually.” Mario admitted. “What with the blood I found.”

 

Chalk closed his eyes. “I’m a very old Magician. I have grown to be able to sense magic disturbances, provided they’re not too far away. You may be right about something happening to her, because a while back I sensed something very curious.”

“What?” The brothers asked at the same time.

“First I sensed somebody entering this dimension. Then I sensed somebody else entering it. About two hours later, I sensed a lot of magic being used, then somebody leaving the dimension. I sent Tromp to investigate, because I was worried I might forget on the way there. That’s probably why you ran into her.” Chalk explained. “Given what has already been said… It’s very likely somebody has taken her out of the dimension.”

“Who?” Luigi asked.

“I don’t know. I said I can sense magic when it’s being used, not who’s using it.” Chalk snapped back.

“Poppa, wouldn’t it be possible for you to search for her, since you know what she looks like?” Tromp asked, looking downtrodden.

The Beanish sighed. “I’m not sure. It would take a lot of energy to search through all the dimensions, energy I don’t know if I have or not.”

“We can’t delay in finding her, tough!” Mario insisted. “We need to stop Fabula from collecting too many Stability Pieces!”

“Stability Pieces?” Chalk was stunned at this revelation, and seemed more willing to consider his options now. “If that’s the case, then perhaps--”

 

_**CRASH!** _

 

A thunderous noise sounded outside, making everyone jump.

“What in the world was that?” Luigi hissed, trying to hide his trembling.

“Why don’t we go find out.” Chalk replied slowly. He made his way to the door, followed by Tromp. Eventually, the two brothers hurried over.

With caution, Chalk took the door handle, and carefully opened the door. The brothers braced themselves for whatever it was they were about to face.  
They weren’t prepared, however, to see Fabula towering over them, a look of pure rage consuming his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! Here's a holiday update!
> 
> Also here's an adorable little picture of the cast for your viewing pleasure!: http://snow-ish.deviantart.com/art/Merry-Christmas-652978224


	7. Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey here's the next chapter! I'm pretty darn fond of this one!

* * *

 

Fabula, while usually laid back and with a slight smile on his face, did not look very appeased. For one, he was now twice his usual height (He probably had the ability to alter his size). The yellow parts of his eyes had been reduced to slits, and his fangs seemed much sharper with his scowl.

“Where is she?” He growled, leering down at group.

“We have no idea what you’re talking about.” Chalk said slowly. He attempted to walk towards the Magician, but Fabula kicked up some snow and forced Chalk to back up.

“WHERE IS ESTELLE?” The giant asked. He was in no mood to talk. If no evidence of Estelle’s location was provided, he would surely rampage.

Mario and Luigi stepped over the threshold while Tromp went over to Chalk. They endured the cold winds as they looked up at Fabula.

“We don’t know where she is!” Mario cried. “She disappeared, and-”

“-We think somebody attacked her.” Luigi finished. “Then they took her away, according to Chalk.”

Upon hearing this, Fabula’s face scrunched up in anger.

“YOU EXPECT ME TO JUST BELIEVE YOUR LIES?” He snarled.

“Hey, you’re the one who asked-” Luigi began, but yelped as Fabula struck at the ground beneath his feet. Quick as a flash, Fabula had grabbed everyone in each of his hands.

“Let us go!” Chalk tried firing a burst of magic, but it only made Fabula’s rage intensify. He looked ready to use his own magic, when Tromp began to glow.

Upon seeing the change in the creature, Chalk froze in surprise. He seemed to lose focus on everything for a moment, then reached out to her.

“Tromp, don’t!”

Against Chalk’s urging, Tromp continued to concentrate. Above her head, a familiar shape appeared: A Stability Piece.

  


Fabula squinted at the bright light, then scoffed.

“Saves me a trip, then.” He grumbled. After a brief pause, he lifted one leg and twirled on the spot, enveloping everyone in a cloud of pink smoke.

The brothers had lost track of how many times they had traveled between dimensions, but they still recognized the sensation. They felt loose and dizzy for a brief moment, then a loss of focus as many sensations returned in an instant.

 

Blinking the blurriness in their eyes away, the group found themselves in a world of blue and purple hues. Pale shapes floated across the landscape--Or, what they could make of it, that is. There was no distinction between what was air and what was ground. The only thing proving what was where was Fabula’s feet coming into contact with some sort of surface.

It was then that Tromp finished charging her attack. A burst of white light shot from the Stability Piece, and shards of ice struck Fabula’s cheek. Fabula roared in pain and dropped his four prisoners, allowing the group to reunite and gain their bearings.

“Are you alright?” Chalk asked Tromp, cradling her in his arms. She seemed a little worn out, but nodded.

“Wait, so Tromp is the guardian of the Stability Piece?” Mario asked. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I forgot until she started using her magic.” Chalk admitted, looking ashamed. “I would have told her to stay inside if I had known.”

“That’s nice and all, but what are we going to do about the GIANT MAGICIAN READY TO TEAR US TO PIECES?” Luigi wailed, pointing to Fabula. The Magician had recovered from the strike, and was turning back to the group, still enraged.

“You won’t have to do anything, provided he remembers to behave himself.” A new voice cut in. Upon hearing it, Luigi’s face went slack, and he subconsciously clenched his fists. In the air before the group appeared an all-too-familiar face: Dimentio.

“Of course, I was merely speaking for the brothers,” Dimentio continued. “Fabula, you’re more than welcome to take care of the Bean-head and his pet.”

 _“Bean-head?”_ Chalk snapped, stepping forward. He looked ready to strike at Dimentio, but leaped away when Fabula fired a burst of energy in his direction. Distracted by the attacker, Chalk ran off, Tromp still in his arms. Fabula stomped after him, preparing more magic shots.

 

“Dimentio.” Mario said coldly. He moved so he was between the Magician and Luigi, knowing full well his brother was agitated by Dimentio’s return.

“Mario and Luigi! It’s been a while… Seven years, in fact.” Dimentio gave a bow, but the brothers knew it was a patronizing one.

“You’re behind all of this. We should have known.”

“Ah, but you were too comfy in assuring yourself I was long gone.” The Magician shrugged. “Such is denial, though.”

“Why are you stealing the Stability Pieces?” Luigi managed, his fists now shaking. His heart was hammering in a mixture of anger and fear, but he would not let Dimentio have the upper hand.

“Uh-uh!” Dimentio shook his head. “It’s Fabula who’s stealing the Pieces! My hands are clean.”

“Doesn’t change the fact you’re behind all this.” Mario spat.

“Well… If you must know, the answer is the same as to why I stole the Chaos Heart. When enough Stability Pieces are gathered… They can be used to create a new world.”

At this, Luigi pushed his brother aside, forehead creasing as he glared at Dimentio.

“You’re leaving other worlds to collapse!” He said, stomping his foot.

“How’s the phrase go… ‘To make an omelette, one must first crack a few eggs’?” Dimentio asked with a casual tilt of his head. He seemed to enjoy the plumber’s animosity. “Besides, I only need one more Piece to reach my goal!”

He then glanced at the group fighting. They had moved their battle a few yards away, but were still visible. Chalk and Fabula were dueling one-on-one, while Tromp was shouting words of support to her father. Dimentio put a thoughtful hand to his chin.

“That creature there… It has ones, does it not? That makes things so much easier.”

“Leave her alone, you-” Luigi snapped, charging at Dimentio. The Magician merely waved his hand, sending the plumber backwards. Mario ran up and caught his brother before he could hit the ground.

“That reminds me,” Dimentio began. “I have no real need for you, and you’re just going to get in the way if I keep you here.” He sighed. “But you’ve proven your fortitude is not to be underestimated. After all, you can back from a Game Over! So I think… I will simply send you to a random dimension. One without a Magician for you to run into this time. Then you will be powerless to stop me!”

The brothers stood up and looked ready to charge again, but Dimentio snapped his fingers. In a flash of light, the twins were gone, whisked away once again.

 

He then turned back to the fight. Fabula had collapsed, but was still conscious (and angry) as he kept firing magic. Chalk seemed to be struggling, so Tromp was preparing another onslaught of ice. Seizing his opportunity, Dimentio quickly floated over.

While her back was turned, Dimentio raised his hand. Chalk caught sight of him, and prepared to shout a warning, but it was too late. With a quick strike, Tromp was sent tumbling, her Stability Piece skittering away in the other direction.

“WHY YOU-” Chalk roared, charging at the Magician. Dimentio gave a smirk and put up a barrier, snickering as the older Magician was sent reeling.

“Looks like somebody’s weak from their fight.” He taunted.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be too outrageous to guess you’re the one who attacked Estelle?” Chalk groaned as he got to his feet again. He readied himself for an attack, but Dimentio chose not to go after him.

“Gold star for you, then!” Dimentio replied.

Chalk took advantage of Dimentio’s pause to fire a bolt of green flames at him. Dimentio hissed in pain as his shoulder was struck, and looked at Chalk, an contorted expression on his face.

Tromp, getting up and seeing the scuffle, hobbled over to Chalk, prepared to defend him. She gave an anxious glance to Fabula, but he seemed in no condition to get up. He was of no concern at the moment.

“You know, I was considering letting you go off someplace to lick your wounds. I was sure you knew not to mess with me anymore. But it’s too late for that now.” Dimentio managed. As he spoke, the world around them changed from blues and pinks to a deep red.

He produced his own fire, a pitch black flame unlike Chalk’s bright green one. With careful aim, he fired it at the pair.

The flame knocked Chalk and Tromp off their feet and filled the area with smoke. As the smoke cleared, Dimentio made his way to Chalk, picking him up by the collar of his cloak.

  


“Any last words?” He asked.

 

While Dimentio was focusing on her father, Tromp stood up. She glanced across the ground, locating the Stability Piece she had dropped earlier. Not waiting for any prompt from Chalk, she ran over to it, picking it up in her mouth. She then immediately turned around and charged for Dimentio, leaping up to tackle him from behind.

Upon being hit by Tromp, Dimentio dropped Chalk and rolled forward. He struggled to get up, and turned back to the older Magician, scowling.

Wasting no time, Chalk picked Tromp up. Staring back at dimentio with a defiant expression, he vanished, leaving the dimension.

Dimentio cursed under his breath and slammed his fist on the ground before getting up fully. Whatever. He could always send Fabula to get another.

 

Speaking of which…

 

Dimentio floated over to Fabula, who had passed out moments before. He shot a bolt of fire at the giant, making him wake up with a yelp.

“This is your fault.” Dimentio said coldly as Fabula sat up.

“I didn’t know the creature had the Stability Piece!” Fabula managed, wringing his hands. “I also wasn’t aware the other Magician was-”

“I mean you going after the brothers.” Dimentio cut in. His expression sent a chill up Fabula’s spine. While Dimentio was acting coldly, he was sure he was just hiding intense rage.

“If you had done as I asked,” Dimentio continued, folding his arms, “We could have cornered them. We could have made them tell us where Estelle is. But you had to be the hero and find her yourself. Now who knows what’s going to happen to her?”

“Dimentio, I-” Fabula stuttered, but failed to find words. He had no excuses.

“The Magician and that creature made off with the Stability Piece, so I still need one. Go out and get another. No more messing with things you’re not supposed to.” Dimentio said dismissively, then vanished.

Fabula waited a few moments to regain his composure. The fight had taken a lot out of him, and the attack Dimentio had used to wake him didn’t really help…

Was it really all his fault? It seemed like everything was at this point. It was his fault Estelle was lost. His fault she didn’t have her mask. Now it was his fault she could be hurt, or worse.

With a sigh, he vanished in a puff of blue smoke. He hadn’t even noticed his feathers changed color.

 

* * *

 

 

_**“Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the match we have going on today here in the Glitz Pit?”** _

In response to the announcer’s question, the crowd erupted in a roar of applause and cheering. While primarily Toads, the crowd was a mix of various species, including Koopas and Lakitus.

_**“Then let’s get this show on the road! First, our challengers! The Mischievous Montys!”** _

From a door on one side of the stadium came three Monty Moles, each waving to the crowd and looking excited. They were new arrivals to the Glitz Pit, but had managed to rise through the ranks pretty quickly.

Though they were excited, a certain aura of apprehension surrounded them. This time, it was serious. They were challenging the champion… And he had held that position for years. This was not going to be easy.

**_“And our reigning champ! Give it up for the one, the only, The Great Gonzales Jr.!”_ **

From the door opposite to the Moles came the champion. Though he fought solo, he was no pushover. He had gained his position when he was still young, and managed to keep it for a long time, only letting go of it when he needed a break.

“Alright! Let’s see what you got!” The Yoshi said, pointing to the Moles.

Two of the Moles raised their fists, ready to brawl, but the third paused. He looked around, tilting his head.

“Um, guys? Do you hear that?” He asked.

“You mean all the applause we’ll get once we beat this guy?” One of his friends asked. “Yeah. But for that to be reality, we gotta fight, bro! So put up your dukes!”

“No, I mean--” The Mole shook his head. “I hear screaming!”

“It’s a crowd. People scream.” The second of his friends said, raising an eyebrow. His teammate wasn’t usually this weird, though, so he decided to hear him out. The other Mole, their leader, sighed in frustration before turning to the other two.

“What’s the matter? Thinking about packing it in already?” Gonzales Jr. asked.

“It’s not that, you overgrown lizard!” One of the Moles barked.

“Then come on! We haven’t got all-”

 

It was at that moment the green-clad man fell on him, causing him to crumple beneath the weight.

 

There was a pause as the crowd sat in stunned silence. The silence was lost quickly, however, when they began to clamor about what had just happened. Gonzales Jr., felled by a falling mustached man!

 _ **“Attention! Attention! Please remain calm!”**_ The announcer was urging. This was not part of the program. Gonzales Jr. could be seriously hurt!

 

* * *

 

 

“I don’t think you’ll be in any condition to fight anytime soon.” The Lakitu doctor sighed. “You’re already showing signs of disorientation.”

“Ah, come on! It was an important match out there!” Gonzales Jr. attempted to stand up from his chair, but felt a rush of dizziness. The Lakitu forced him back down.

“Any fighting could make the trauma worse.” The doctor insisted. “Just wait here. I have to check on the man who fell on you.”

As the Lakitu left the champion’s room, the Toad who had been standing aside walked over to Gonzales Jr. It was Jolene, the manager of the Glitz Pit.

“Sorry, GJ.” She sighed, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “Your health comes first, even if you want to go back out there.”

“Come on, boss!” Gonzales Jr. urged. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes! Just enough time to kick those Moles back into the holes they came from!”

“They refuse to fight you while you’re like this. ‘It wouldn’t be fair,’ they insisted.”

“Awww, fine.” Gonzales Jr. grumbled. He kicked his feet for a moment, then looked at her. “Have you found out who the guy is? It’s not every day a man falls out of the sky!”

“Well, when he hit you, he got knocked out too, so I don’t know if he’s awake yet.” Jolene answered. “But we should find out soon enough.”

“Good news!” The Lakitu said as he returned. He floated into the room, then gestured for somebody on the other side of the door to follow. “The man has woken up, and hasn’t sustained any injuries!”

“Good for him, considering he used me as a cushion!” Gonzales Jr. scoffed, folding his arms. When he looked up to see the man, however, he froze.

“G-G… Gonzales?” He managed, dumbstruck.

Wait, no… It wasn’t Gonzales. The man before him was too tall. Too thin. His mustache was styled wrong, and green was _not_ Gonzales’ color.

“You seem to have me confused with somebody else…” The man said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Er, yeah. Sorry. You just look a lot like a guy I know. He looks just like you but… Dressed in red.”

Gonzales--No, Mario, as he was actually named--had kept in touch with Jr. via letters for the past few years, but he had never returned to the Glitz Pit, as much as he had promised. Jr. didn’t hold it against him, seeing as he was pretty busy, but that didn’t mean he was against it happening.

“Mario? Is he here?” The green man looked around desperately, but stopped after a moment. That would be asking for too much, wouldn’t it. There was no way Dimentio would be kind enough to teleport them to the same place.

“No. It was just you who fell from the sky.” Jolene replied. “What is your name, if you don’t mind us asking?”

“Luigi.” The man replied. He gave a small smile, happy to be in contact with somebody his brother knew. “Sorry for crashing in like that… It’s a long story… But I really need to find my brother first.”

“You think Gonzales is out there somewhere?” Gonzales Jr. sat up straight, suddenly interested.

“It’s possible.” Luigi replied. “But I won’t know if I don’t look. So I’d better go as soon as I can.”

“Then you’ll need somebody who knows their way around this place!” Gonzales Jr. said, hopping out of the chair again. This time, no dizziness came. “I traveled with your bro on our adventure to get the Crystal Stars. I can show you every nook and cranny until we find him!”

“That’d be great!” Luigi cried, standing up straight.

“Hang on! Gonzales Jr., you still haven’t recovered from your injury, and there might-” The Lakitu began, but the Yoshi snapped at him.

“Ah, stick a sock in it, doc! I’m fine! Besides, it’s just some walking around, what harm’ll that do?”

Without waiting for the doctor’s response, Gonzales Jr. stomped out of the room, followed by a cautious Luigi. The Lakitu shook his head in frustration.

“He’s a hardy kid, I wouldn’t worry too much.” Jolene assured him. She then sighed herself, wondering what she was going to do with Gonzales Jr. gone. People were looking forward to that title match.

 _I’ll figure out something_ , she assured herself. _I always do._  


* * *

 

 

Ah, the sea. While it could be fierce and unforgiving, it was quiet and calm today. The waves splashed against the side of the ship, and the wind drifted carefully into the sails.

  


Admiral Bobbery enjoyed days like this. His crew would be sure to do their best, and there was little risk of disaster.

“Cortez! Any sight of the port?” He called to the skull at the wheel.

“Not a one!” Cortez replied. “If we’re on schedule, it may be an hour or two until it shows up, though.”

“Noted.” Bobbery replied. He was anxious to dock, as much as he tried to hide it. It had been a few months since their last visit to Rogueport, and he missed the place a little.

“In that case, I’ll be in my quarters. Alert me if anything happens!”

“Aye!” Cortez said, watching the Bob-omb walk to the door leading below deck. He was certain nothing would happen, though. It was the perfect day…

 

… For people to fall into the ocean, that is.

 

Before Cortez’s eyes, a figure appeared in the air a good distance from the ship. He watched as it flailed, falling, before landing in the sea with a splash. A few seconds later, the figure appeared at the surface, struggling to stay afloat.

Cortez knew that if he left that figure alone, they would drown. What kind of sailor would he be if he let innocents fall victim to the vast blue? Some of the crew members, also having seen the figure, looked at him expectantly.

“Everyone hang tight!” He suddenly cried. He pulled on the wheel, and the ship began to lurch in the direction of the figure. “Ready the lifesaver!”

“WHAT’S GOING ON!” Bobbery, having felt the sudden turn from below, stormed onto the deck. “CORTEZ, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR-”

“MAN OVERBOARD!” Was all Cortez snapped back, making Bobbery realize the seriousness of the situation.

 

It didn’t take long for the ship to pull up next to the struggling figure. Cortez waited while a couple of crew members threw the life preserver over, knowing too many people on one task was just asking for trouble. Once he saw the familiar red of the figure’s clothes, however, he couldn’t stop himself from charging over.

“It’s Mario!” Bobbery exclaimed, jumping up and down. “What are the odds?

Mario coughed and spluttered, clearing his lungs of sea water. He was too disoriented from the fall to respond, but he could have sworn he had just heard the voice of Admiral Bobbery.

“You alright there, lad?” Bobbery asked after Mario stopped coughing.

“Yes, I… I’m fine. Thank you, uh… Bobbery?” He scanned the crew, easily finding the floating skull. “And Cortez!”

“A pleasure to see you again, matey!” Cortez said. “Though I wish it were in better circumstances.”

“Luigi.” Mario suddenly said. “I was just with Luigi, where… Where is he? He’s-”

“He’s not here, Mario. Just you.” Bobbery replied. He had briefly met the green-clad plumber on his journey with Mario, so he knew who Mario was talking about.

“I need to find him, then! We need to regroup, and… And find out what to-”

“Your best bet would be to wait until we’ve docked at Rogueport.” Cortez cut in. “That won’t be for a couple of hours, though.”

“Why don’t you take the time to relax?” Bobbery suggested. “That swimming must have taken a lot out of you, and we can use the time to catch up a little.”

  
“Alright…” Mario agreed, but frowned slightly. It was better than nothing.


	8. It's Best Not to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey this chapter is mainly flashback!
> 
> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Also I write like 7 paragraphs about Chalk considering his options I'm sorry

* * *

 

Chalk sighed as he paced around the room. He was back in his home, but he wasn’t happy about it. He had returned to the dimension in order to get Tromp to safety, and had succeeded--But only just. 

When they had returned to their wintery home, it was in chaos. The ground shook, and the sky had grown dark. Pieces of the earth were vanishing before Chalk’s eyes. It was only when Tromp had summoned the Stability Piece again that everything began to return to normal. That alone had shown Chalk the seriousness of what Fabula had done.

 

  


 

Tromp, having used a lot of energy, was now resting in her large pile of blankets on the floor. Chalk felt a pang of guilt whenever he glanced in her direction. If he had remembered she had the Stability Piece sooner (Had he even known before? It was hard to tell realizations from reclaimed memories sometimes), he would have kept her at home.

He paused by his work desk and began to rap his knuckles on its surface. It helped him stay on focus, especially when he felt he was going to forget something. Right now he needed to come up with a plan. Though previously uninvolved with what the two brothers were wrapped up in, he now knew action had to be taken. If too much time passed, Dimentio could put more dimensions in danger.

 

His gaze then drifted across the desk, landing on the mask he had set down earlier. It was Estelle’s, no doubt. The picture the brothers had had confirmed it. Chalk paused in his tapping, now distracted by a new thought: Just where was Estelle?

Dimentio had been the one to attack her… But was she sent to a random dimension like the twins, or… Worse? He closed his eyes and bit the inside of his cheek. Stop thinking so negatively, he scolded himself.

He returned his attention to the mask, resuming his habit. Fabula had been looking for Estelle, and he was also in the picture… So he knew her. But how? It didn’t seem like he knew, either, especially since he didn’t have his mask.

Chalk took in a deep breath, realizing he had just been holding it in all that time. He hadn’t paid much attention to the thought, but… Fabula seemed familiar to him. He felt like he should know the larger magician, but he couldn’t recall how. 

“Of all the things to forget.” He hissed. He adjusted his mask, even though there was no real point. He then looked at the mask on the desk one more time. He had been skirting around the idea all this time, but his fuzzy memory was begging for it to happen.

He slowly sat down in the chair in front of the desk, not once shifting his gaze from Estelle’s mask. While he did see it as his duty to return masks to their owners, going through memories was never something he looked forward to. 

But there was a lot at stake… The fate of several dimensions, in fact. He barely knew anything about Estelle or Fabula, but according to the brothers, they-

 

That was it. 

 

The idea flashed into Chalk’s head, and he almost jumped out of the chair. It was a long shot, but…

“Tromp?” He called, turning a bit so he could see his daughter in her blanket pile. She opened one eye, but said nothing.

“I’m going to view some memories. If I don’t come back in an hour, you know what to do.”

Tromp nodded. Since Chalk’s mask was damaged, his powers were unstable. He couldn’t control how long he viewed memories, so sometimes he would be in them for a whole day. Tromp had learned a good way to snap him out of it was to stomp on his foot, so Chalk had often given her the duty of bringing him back into focus.

 

With that, Chalk turned to the mask, and slowly picked it up. He took in a gulp of air, then focused. The mask began to glow, faintly at first, but then a brilliant green. He could feel the warmth in his hands, familiar but still apprehension-inducing.

He then closed his eyes and let the magic do the rest. While his mind would go and view the memories the mask had to offer, his body would remain in that position, sitting at the desk as if he were a statue.

Tromp stared at him for a moment, waiting until she was sure he was in the trance. She never liked it when he did this. Even though he was right there, she knew he really wasn’t, so the house felt cold and empty.

She took note of the time on a small clock on the wall, easy to miss in the middle of all the masks, and prepared to wait. The second the clock ticked over an hour from the current time, she was going to charge over and wake him up.

* * *

 

 

“Estelle!” 

Estelle turned to the speaker, another Masked Magician. There were many Masked Magicians in this village, and they all knew each other. Estelle didn’t recognize the speaker, but she wasn’t surprised they knew her.

“Are the rumors true? Are you really gonna get your mask tomorrow?”

Estelle chuckled, trying to seem modest, but she was genuinely excited.

“Only if I pass the test. Masks are only supposed to be given when parents think their child has enough magic ability, but since I don’t really have any, the elders are going to test me.”

“That’s great! Then you can start looking around for a mentor! You know, you might be the oldest student ever!”

That comment felt like stab to Estelle’s heart. Many young magicians would have already received their masks by now, but Estelle was already a teen. While most would simply blame the fact her parents abandoned her, Estelle knew they were aware her magic was developing slowly.

 

_“You’re just a late bloomer!”_ They said, when she explained her frustrations.

_“It’s not a big deal, they’ll come eventually!”_ They said, when every other child already had a mentor.

_“We’ll help you out if you ever need it.”_ They said, not knowing how patronizing they sounded.

 

Before Estelle could respond, the other Magician excused themself and hurried away. She sighed and continued down the path she had been walking.

She was heading for the house of Tragoedia and Comoedia, the two Magicians who didn’t treat her the way everyone else did. They even offered to help her strengthen her abilities.

She hoped they would have time for one last lesson before tomorrow… She needed all the help she could get if she wanted to prove she was worthy of her mask.

 

* * *

 

“And as you can see, she has failed to demonstrate even the most basic of Masked Magician abilities: Dimension jumping. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that Estelle is not worthy of her mask.”

The words of Arpeggio, one of the village elders, hit Estelle like a weight. She had tried so hard… But… Even with the help of the twin sisters, Estelle hadn’t been able to do anything. 

Many Magicians would claim the test was foolproof: All one had to do was demonstrate their basic magic skills for the elders and the audience, just to prove there was something there.

But just like in her practice sessions, Estelle couldn’t come up with so much as a spark. 

She looked around the square, feeling the heated gaze of everyone on her. What kind of Magician was she, if she couldn’t do something as simple as this? And at her age…

“Given your history, Estelle, I don’t think it would be wise to do this again until you’d made significant progress.” Arpeggio added quietly.

Overcome with grief and shame, all Estelle could do was nod numbly. With the test over, everyone began to clear from the town square. Estelle noticed a few Magicians give her looks of pity or disgust before turning away.

Even when everyone was gone, Estelle still felt like she was being stared at. She knew she would be, anyway--Word would spread how she failed. Magicians would look at her as if she were the freak of the town. A magicless Magician, who would even dare think it!

 

All the emotions she had bubbled up over the years--The loathing disguised as pity from her friends, the mocking looks she would get from children younger than her who didn’t understand why she was maskless--they began to spill out. 

Her face got warm, and the tears fell without prompt. Not caring if anyone heard her, Estelle began to sniffle and sob. Soon, she started to wail. Eventually, she was a blubbering mess, falling to her knees on the cobblestone square.

 

 

_What’s wrong with me?_ She asked, knowing no answer would come. _Why am I like this?_

Estelle wasn’t sure how long she had been crying, but her head began to hurt. Her tears and snot felt disgusting on her face, and her knees ached from the stone under them. Unable to slow her breathing, she picked herself up shakily, and began to make her way back home.

She hoped her foster family was out. She didn’t want to come home to judging gazes and hushed questions from her ‘siblings.’ She just wanted to fall into bed and never get up again.

 

* * *

 

It had been three days since Estelle failed the test. Her foster family tried to act like they didn’t care, but she could tell they did. They now housed the village pariah. She was now a burden.

Her foster mother made breakfast in silence. Estelle ate quickly so she would be the first to leave, not wanting her siblings to stare at her any longer than they already had. People looking at her made her stomach lurch now. She could sense them trying to make sense of her, trying to find a way to explain the fact she couldn’t do what they could.

Estelle took a different walk route than she usually did this morning. It was a secluded path, and hopefully free of people to run into.

 

Her hopes had been fulfilled… To a point. About ten minutes into her walk, she heard a group of voices. She froze up for a moment, almost tripping. As she stumbled forward, she heard a pause in the conversation, and looked up. She felt her throat get tight when she saw the group of others a yard or so down the path.

The group was mainly girls, and they were gathered around a tall figure Estelle hd never seen before. The taller figure gave Estelle an odd look, the pink feathers on his head swaying a bit. Estelle noticed his mask was a pale golden material, with a smile carved into it.

“Who’s that?” He asked.

Estelle felt her face grow hot, and she hurried her pace in order to get past the group faster. As she passed, she heard one of the girls whisper something.

“Oh, that’s just Estelle. Don’t mind her, she’s a bit of a freak. She can’t use magic, so she’s pretty much the town’s baby!”

Estelle began to run, ignoring the tears forming and the sob catching in her throat. She heard giggling from the group before darting around a corner, the sound fading quickly.

Estelle paused and tried to catch her breath. This stretch of road was luckily deserted, so she let a few sobs out before wiping her face. Even strangers were being told of her situation. Would the ridicule end?

She stood there in silence for a few moments, not sure what to do now. Things would just remain the same if she stayed here. Perhaps she could--

 

“Excuse me?”

Estelle jumped, letting out a yelp. She spun around to the source of the voice, immediately recognizing it as the stranger from before. She had been in too much of a hurry to notice, but he was very tall, easily 8 feet. She craned her neck to look up at him, before letting some anger out.

“What? Come to get a closer look?” She snapped.

 

The stranger’s mask suddenly twirled around, the smile turning into a frown and the eyes above it opening. He held up all four--Four? He had four arms?--of his hands and shook his head desperately.

“No-No-No! Not at all! I just…” He paused, glancing back the way he had come. “Does everyone treat you like that?”

Estelle stared at him, trying to process what just happened. She eventually relaxed and stared at the ground.

“Ever since I failed my test. I was supposed to prove I was worthy of earning my mask, but… I couldn’t do anything. Now everyone looks at me weird… It seems only Tragoedia and Comoedia treat me with respect.”

“Well that’s a bit of a coincidence…” The stranger mumbled, rubbing his chin.

“What do you mean?”

“Tragoedia and Comoedia are my sisters!” He said, his masking flipping around again. “I came here to visit them, but then got mobbed by that group… Apparently my reputation precedes me.”

“If you have a reputation, I’ve never heard of it.” Estelle. “I’m afraid I don’t know who you are.”

“Oh, well, let me rectify that, then.” The Magician suddenly twirled around on one foot (Paw? Estelle was beginning to realize this guy was strange, even for a Magician…) and gave her a deep bow.

 

“I am Fabula! I’m a pretty powerful Magician, and I was born here! I like to go on little adventures, so I guess word of my doings gets back here eventually.” 

“I see. Your sisters never mentioned you, though.”

“Not surprising. Siblings can be like that sometimes, you know.” Fabula brushed her comment away, as if trying to avoid the subject. “But I have a question… Can you really not use magic?”

“Not at all. Even when I practice.”

“But your parents were Magicians, right?”

“That I am sure of. They even left a mask behind for me to have when I…” She trailed off, a pang in her heart telling her to stop.

Fabula stood up, and tented his fingers, looking off to the side. He seemed deep in thought. 

“Well, then that would be impossible. You should have even just a little magic. No magic at all… That’s just not possible!”

“I am living proof that it is possible.” Estelle insisted, folding her arms. 

 

“Do you really want to believe that?” Fabula asked, tilting his head.

That was an odd question to ask. What did he mean by it? 

“Because if you want to believe that you really don’t have any magic, then I don’t see why you’re upset by it.” His tone was suddenly stern. “You’re not able to use magic, so you should be fine with that.”

“No,” Estelle suddenly said. “I want to use magic. I want to do all the things other Magicians can do. I just… Can’t, for some reason.”

“Just because you can’t doesn’t mean you don’t have any magic in you.” Fabula replied, making Estelle even more confused. “You just haven’t found the right way to coax it out yet!”

“Why are you trying to give me this pep talk?” Estelle asked, a little cautious. “You barely know me. You could just take pity on me like everyone else.”

 

“Everyone who treats you that way is garbage.” Fabula suddenly snarled. He seemed agitated now. “They only care about results, not the process it takes to get them.”

Estelle was put off my Fabula’s sudden hostility. Why did he dismiss everyone so quickly? Not sure what else to say, Estelle turned around, and began walking away.

“Well, it’s not like there’s a mentor in this town that’s patient enough to teach me. They only care about students with masks.” She sighed.

“I don’t!” Fabula called, making Estelle stop and turn back.

“Are you…”

“Offering to be your mentor? Why yes, yes I am.” He replied with a laugh. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help you earn your mask.”

Estelle was silent, and stared at the ground again. She wasn’t sure if she should take the offer. Worst case scenario, she would never improve, and Fabula would eventually give up on her. Did she really want to experience that?

 

“Think about it like this.” Fabula suddenly said, seeming a bit peppier than before. “You’re staring in a movie about an underdog! Nobody treats you right, nobody respects you! But then along comes your new mentor, Fabula, and he teaches you to believe in yourself! Hooray, happy ending!”

Fabula began to imitate a cheering crowd, making Estelle giggle a bit. It was the first real bit of laughter she had had since the test. 

“See! There! I got ya to smile! Er… Are you smiling? I can’t really tell since you don’t have a mouth.” Fabula rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. 

Estelle giggled again, then nodded to Fabula.

“Alright. I’ll take you up on your offer. But only if I have the right to withdraw if I feel we’re not getting anywhere.”

“That’s it? Then we have a deal!” 

 

Before Estelle could say anything else, Fabula hobbled over and lifted her up, setting her down on one of his arms. 

 

 

“The new mentor and student duo! Estelle and Fabula!” He cheered.

“Why did you use a movie as an example?” Estelle asked.

“Well…” Fabula “Truth be told, my old mentor used to do it a lot… She would describe scenarios in a movie-like fashion to help me visualize things. You wouldn’t know her since she’s super old by now, but her name’s Shear!”

  
  


* * *

 

**_“POPPA! WAKE UP!”_ **

 

Chalk’s eyes flung open as Tromp pressed down on his foot. He dropped Estelle’s mask onto the table and blinked a few times, still a little dazed by the memories.

“Well? Did you learn anything?” Tromp asked, looking up at her father. 

Chalk nodded, still staring into empty space.

“I get the feeling Estelle and Fabula were very close…” He explained. “Especially given their history. Fabula was likely very protective of her. We can use that to our advantage. But… There was something else that bothered me.”

“What’s that?”

“He mentioned Shear. The name of my sister.” Chalk answered.

“Huh? But Poppa, you never said you had a sister!”

 

“That’s because I forgot I even had one. Until now, that is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well now we know a bit more about Estelle ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> obviously Fabula's mentoring helped since she could use her abilities before she met the bros
> 
> but yes this is why she doesn't like crowds of people staring at her and has those freaky nightmares!
> 
> \--
> 
> In this chapter we learn a bit more about Masked Magicians when they're in large groups like the village. Basically young Magicians are given their mask when they demonstrate enough magic ability. This mask starts out pretty featureless and plain, but develops alongside the Magician wearing it.
> 
> Arpeggio, Tragoedia, and Comoedia are not relevant to this work--Well kind of. Tra and Com are actual characters I made, but they aren't of any use other than a name drop. Arpeggio was just a random name I came up with for the elder.
> 
> \----
> 
> EDIT: April 23rd, 2017
> 
> I do have the next chapter done and ready, it's just that other things have been on my plate as of late and I don't want to post it without art+having the next chapter at least somewhat planned. This fic isn't abandoned, just... Very Very Very Slow.


	9. Ready...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sORRY THIS ONE TOO K SO LONG....... TO POST. I had it written for a while but things happened and stuff happened and stuff and things happened so y'know. I'm outlining the next chapter now so I figured I'd post this now.

 

* * *

 

 

“Welcome to Rogueport!” Gonzales Jr. cried as he spread his arms out and glanced at Luigi. The pair had just stepped into the town’s square, and the Yoshi seemed eager to show Luigi around.

Luigi gave a thoughtful nod as he looked around. He hadn’t told Gonzales Jr., but he had passed through this town a couple of times on his own adventures. He decided to let the young one give him a tour, however, since it seemed to make him happy.

“This place is a port town, so we get all kinds of folk coming and going. If we want any chance of finding Gonzal--I mean--Mario, then we’d best start by asking around here.” Gonzales Jr. explained. “Come on, let’s check out the docks!”

Without waiting for Luigi’s response, the Yoshi took his hand and pulled. The two were soon rushing through the small crowds to the southern part of Rogueport, where a set of docks sat on the sea. As Luigi did his best to keep up with Gonzales Jr., he could hear his companion give a whistle.

 

“Looks like there’s a ship just docking now! Hey, let’s ask the captain if he’s seen anything!”

“Is that alright? H-He just hit land, and we don’t even know him!”

Gonzales came to a screeching halt, causing Luigi to stumble a few feet and trip. As he looked up and rubbed his nose, he noticed the Yoshi was pointing at the ship, a big grin on his face.

“Well, lucky for us that I do! See? It’s Cortez! And I’m pretty sure Admiral Bobbery is on board with him!”

 

Luigi picked himself up off the ground, brushing the dust and dirt off of his overalls, before looking at the ship. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed the figure at the wheel was a giant, floating skull, but then relaxed when he remembered Mario’s stories of his adventure. His brother had befriended the undead pirate while searching for the Crystal Stars, so Luigi was sure he wouldn’t mind chatting.

“Yo! Cortez, my man!” Gonzales Jr. cried, stomping down the wooden dock to a place where he could speak to Cortez easily. Luigi tagged behind him, getting distracted by watching the crew working on the deck. “Nice to see ya again! Hate to drop this on ya as soon as you dock, but do you have time for a quick chat? We’re looking for Mario, and we wanna know if you’ve seen him!”

At this, Cortez blinked in surprise. He looked down at the Yoshi, then his jaw dropped a little when he noticed Luigi.

 

“Well, little one! It be quite the coincidence we meet, because Mario’s actually on board with us! We were just about to step off to look for Luigi there!”

Gonzales Jr. jumped up and down with excitement, not believing his luck.

“Hey, Luigi, You hear that? Your bro’s on the ship--talk about an open and shut case! Come on, let’s go talk to him!”

 

Once the crew was able to clear the deck, Gonzales Jr. and Luigi hopped aboard, hurrying over to the skeletal captain.

“So where is he, Cortez? Where’s Mario?” The Yoshi asked, a bit impatient. He was showing a lot more excitement about meeting Mario than Luigi was, but it was understandable why--He hadn’t seen the man for years!

“He’s below deck, in Bobbery’s study. The two are just catching up, so why not go down and join ‘em?” Cortez replied. “I need to help the rest of the crew with unloading supplies and the like.”

 

This time, it was Luigi’s turn to lead the way. Wanting to make sure his brother was okay from the forced transport, he rushed through the door leading below deck. Gonzales Jr. followed swiftly behind, grinning to himself.

The two barreled through the door at the end of the hall, only giving a moment’s pause to read the plaque and confirm it was Bobbery’s room. When they managed to skid to a halt, they found Mario and Bobbery sitting on opposite sides of a desk, staring dumbfounded at their new guests.

 

“Luigi!” Mario cried, jumping up once he had processed it was his brother standing before him. The twins gave relieved laughs before running up to each other and hugging, each of them happy the other wasn’t harmed.  


“Luigi! Nice to see you, lad!” Admiral Bobbery hopped off his chair and hobbled over to the other three. “I was worried we’d have to go on a whole new adventure just to find you.”

 

 

The brothers released each other, and exchanged concerned looks. They seemed to have a silent conversation of sorts before Mario turned to Bobbery and began to speak.

“Actually, we’re in the middle of one,” He said, shrugging. “I was about to tell you about it before Luigi and Gonzales Jr. arrived.”

“Hey, speakin’ of me!” The Yoshi spoke for the first time since entering the room. He stomped up to Mario, who seemed surprised by his friend’s suddenly hostile behavior. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten that battle you owe me! How’s about we settle it right now, over in the Glitz Pit?”

“Listen, I’d enjoy spending time to catch up with both of you,” Mario managed, glancing between Bobbery and Gonzales Jr. “But we don’t have the time! If we don’t hurry, several dimensions will fall apart!”

This information seemed to catch Gonzales Jr. off-guard, and he swallowed hard. Having to shoulder his annoyance, he dipped his head and backed up.

 

“But bro, we don’t have any way of getting back to stop Dimentio!” Luigi piped up.

“Now hold on there, slow down for just a minute!” Bobbery cried, jumping a little so the others would look his way. “You can’t just prattle on about a world-endangering situation and not expect us to want to help! How about you just take a moment to catch us up. Four heads are better than two!”

Mario and Luigi paused, glancing at each other. Mario then gave a smile when he realized Bobbery had a point--Besides, both the Bob-omb and the Yoshi had helped in their fight against the Shadow Queen. They could be trusted.

 

“Alright, we’ll tell you. Perhaps we can all come up with a plan.” Mario said with a nod.

“You remember Dimentio, right? That guy we told you about from our adventure in Flipside?” Luigi prompted.

“A little bit, yeah… but that was like, forever ago!” Gonzales Jr. scoffed. “Didn’t you say he blew up or something?”

“We thought that,” Luigi grunted. He was about to continue his thought when the sound of shouts came from above.

 

“Something’s happened on the deck,” Bobbery said, hurrying out of the room. The other three were unsure whether or not they should follow, but rushed after him when he called back, “Well? Are you just going to stand there all loopy-eyed?”

The four of them burst out onto deck, looking around for the source of the commotion. They saw Cortez shouting something to a group of crew members, who had swarmed around something.

“What’s the ruckus, Cortez?” Bobbery called. The skull glanced at the group, then gestured his chin towards the crowd.

“Some ruffian appeared on the ship somehow. He wasn’t there a moment before, so he probably snuck on board.”

“Let’s have a look at this attempted stowaway, shall we?” Bobbery huffed as he stomped over to the crowd, followed by a cautious trio of Mario, Luigi, and Gonzales Jr.

The crew members parted to allow a better look at the intruder--A Beanish dressed in purple, with a mask that only covered half of his face. The man struggled against his captors, but their grip on his arms held him fast.

 

“Chalk?” Mario and Luigi gasped at the same time.

“You two know this rat?” Cortez scoffed in surprise.

“Yes, in fact I’ve been looking for them for a while!” Chalk answered, but nobody paid him any attention.

“Let ‘im go, let ‘im go.” Bobbery sighed, and the crew obeyed. They pushed Chalk forward, making him fall to his knees, then turned back to resume their work. After sparing the Beanish an indignant look, Cortez turned away as well.

“Lads, are there any other friends of yours we should keep an eye out for?” Bobbery asked, turning to the brothers. “I don’t want any more surprises or interruptions!”

“N-No, we didn’t even know Chalk was coming.” Mario managed, hurrying over to Chalk and helping him stand up.

“I apologize for the rude entrance.” Chalk sighed, brushing his cloak off a bit. “But I needed to get to the brothers as soon as possible. I’ve made a few discoveries that might be beneficial for you two to know.”

“Wait, what about Tromp? Is she-” Luigi started, but Chalk waved it aside with a frown.

“I left her at home. She should be fine. But you should really know what I’ve found out… I looked at the memories in Estelle’s mask.”

 

The brothers gasped before looking at each other, but Gonzales Jr. and Bobbery only seemed more confused.

“Yo! M and L!” Gonzales Jr. said, snapping his fingers to get their attention. “Before bean-head over there says anything more confusing, now’s probably the best time to catch us up on just what is going on!” He noticed Chalk had given him a dirty look at his nickname, but the Yoshi merely stuck a bit of his tongue out.

“Aye,” Bobbery agreed. “But before you speak, perhaps we should leave the ship for now. Even if you aren’t expecting any other visitors, I don’t think Cortez would take too kindly to another interruption.”

“Then let’s head back into town. There’s probably a café or something that will let us chat for a bit.” The Yoshi suggested.

Murmuring in agreement, the group followed Gonzales Jr. off of the ship.

 

* * *

 

The group had failed to find a café willing to seat a group of five, so they had to settle for a pub near the town square. There were only two other patrons, a pair of Toads who gave them curious looks before resuming their conversation.

The bartender reluctantly let them sit in the back without ordering anything, but only because he was rather intimidated by them--Mario, savior of Rogueport, and friends? He had heard stories of what they had done, so it was probably best to let them be.

 

“So, as we’ve told you before, Dimentio was a magician who took the Chaos Heart and tried to use its power for his own purposes,” Mario began in a hushed tone. “We thought we had defeated him for good, but recent events have proved us wrong.”

As Mario explained the situation, with Luigi and Chalk cutting in at certain points, he was met with a mix of puzzled and agitated looks from his two friends. Whenever one of Dimentio’s actions was brought up, Gonzales Jr.’s fists clenched, as if he wanted to punch something. Bobbery seemed ready to light his fuse when Chalk explained how Fabula and Estelle knew each other.

“That good-for-nothing, messing with the sacred relationship of mentor and student!” He growled, almost jumping to his feet. “I’ll give him a piece of my mind--By going off in his face!”

“So that’s why Fabula and Estelle feel a connection to each other, huh?” Luigi asked Chalk, passing over Bobbery’s outburst. “That’s horrible…”

“That brings me to my second bit of information. I didn’t learn this from the mask, but while fighting Dimentio. He’s the one who attacked Estelle before you two found me. My guess is he’s holding her somewhere, since she’s worth more as leverage.”

 

At this, Luigi gripped the table. Mario could see he was trying to keep a straight face, but the twitch of an eyebrow and a deep exhale betrayed him.

“Luigi…” He began, causing the rest to stare at the younger brother. “Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Luigi replied, his voice tight. “I don’t want that madman to get away with messing with anyone else!”

“It’s fine if you can’t handle this, bro, I just-” Mario began in his gentlest voice, but Luigi snapped at him.

 

“What makes you think I can’t handle this? I’m just as capable as you are, you know. We’ve been on so many journeys together, so you’ve seen my abilities firsthand! But for some reason everyone thinks they need to baby me, and then you sometimes slip up and do it too!” At this point, Luigi was starting to cry.

“I’m not your younger brother who keeps needing your protection anymore! And until you can realize that… I guess I won’t contribute to this!”

Luigi stood up from his seat and hurried off, not even listening when Mario cried for him to stop. He wrenched the pub’s door open and stormed outside, leaving it hanging open.

The two other customers, who had dropped their conversation upon hearing the outburst, looked warily towards the group. The bartender gave them all a stern look, to which the four of them shifted uncomfortably. Mario stared down at the table, looking ashamed.

 

“I’ll go talk to him.” Chalk finally said. He stood up slowly, and was not prompted to stay by any of them. With a slight nod, he went out the door, careful to close it this time.

 

* * *

 

Chalk found Luigi sitting on a bench a few blocks away from the pub, trying his best to stifle his tears. He gave Chalk a sour look when he noticed him, but did not stop the Beanish from sitting next to him.

“Are you alright?” Chalk asked. He bit his lip upon realizing how pointless the question was. He wasn’t the best at comforting others.

“Did he send you to talk to me?” Luigi asked, his voice low and gravely.

“Actually, I came here of my own volition.” Chalk answered, trying to sound as gentle as possible. “I figured perhaps a mediating force would be best.”

Luigi sighed before sitting up and looking directly at Chalk. The initial surge of emotion seemed to be ebbing away, but he was still holding onto something.

 

“I just… Sometimes when Mario thinks he’s helping me out by being protective… It can get a little smothering. We’re brothers, yeah, but adults. I don’t need my hand held for everything.”

Chalk gave a gentle nod in understanding. “That’s true. But don’t you think he has reasons to be like that right now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, older siblings typically are protective. It’s a fact of life. Considering what you and Mario have told me about your previous encounter with Dimentio, it’s no wonder he’s concerned--Especially since you reacted the way you did.”

“But… He makes it sound like I can’t do anything at all.” Luigi said, his voice trembling a bit.

“Well, can you do _this_?” Chalk asked, raising an eyebrow. “Facing Dimentio again, even after what he did to you?”

“Of course I-” Luigi began, but his voice caught in his throat. He looked away, and Chalk could see him bite his lip. When he spoke again, his voice was shaky.

“I don’t know. When I found out Dimentio was back, I felt so many emotions just… Overwhelm me. Anger, fear, shock… I guess I’m-I’m scared.”

Chalk nodded slowly, looking forward. “It’s okay to feel scared. But it’s your choice to let that fear cripple your ability to do anything. If you’re able to, and you want to prove to Mario you can handle things, then I would suggest you put those fears aside for now.”

 

Luigi thought on the Beanish’s words for a bit, then gave a slow nod. He then stood up, and Chalk followed suit. The two began to make their way back to the pub, in silence at first, but then engaging in a quick chat.

“How come you knew all of that stuff about older siblings?” Luigi asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

“I have an older sister,” Chalk replied, but then added mysteriously: “Somewhere.”

Luigi gave him an odd look, but chose not to pursue the thought, as the pair had just reached the pub’s door. Upon swinging it open, they found their friends still at the table. The group of three swung their heads to watch Luigi and Chalk move towards them. They looked as if they had been talking while they were gone.

 

Chalk moved over and sat back down in his chair, but Luigi remained standing a few feet from the table, rubbing his arm uncertainly. Mario pushed his chair back and stood up, walking up to Luigi. The two stared at each other for a moment, each looking like they had something to say.

“I’m sorry for being so overbearing-”

“I’m sorry for snapping like that-”

The two had blurted out their apologies at the same time, leaving them in a stunned silence for a moment. When they had processed what had happened, they began to snicker, before quickly devolving into hearty laughter. As they laughed, they wrapped each other in a big hug, relieved to be on even ground once again.

“Alright!” Gonzales Jr. cried. “Hooray for Mario and Uncle Luigi!” He joined in the cheering of everyone else, surprised to see even the two customers and the bartender had joined in.

Once the brothers had sat back in their seats, the Yoshi jumped right into talking about strategy.

“From what I’ve heard, it sounds like stopping Fabula is our best bet. He’s Dimentio’s strongest ally, and a big obstacle. So we need to--”

Gonzales Jr.’s talk was interrupted by the sound of crashing from outside, quickly followed by screams from people outside. Everyone jumped from their seats, and Admiral Bobbery ran to the nearest window. As he looked out, he called to the others.

 

“This Fabula bloke, he be tall with four arms and a bunch of pink feathers, aye?”

“Yeah…” Mario said slowly.

“Then I believe he’s found us, instead.” Bobbery turned back to the group as a pink shape passed by the window, prompting the customers and bartender to yelp in surprise.

 

* * *

 

Estelle blinked the blackness from her vision, surprised to find nothing but green greeting her. As her sight focused, she could see shapes drift around, lacking form but… Still there, somehow.

She attempted to pull herself up into a sitting position, but paused when she couldn’t move her arms. Had something happened to--That’s when she remembered. She had been attacked, and now she was in her gaseous bubble form.

 

Her smaller form, something that happened to her when she spent too much energy or received a powerful blow, was incapable of movement. She also couldn’t use her powers, so… She was essentially stuck there.

But as she looked around desperately for something that could assist her, she could feel a bit of energy return to her. However long she had been out, it was enough for her to recharge, if only slightly.

 _Perhaps I can make use of this_ , she thought, closing her eyes and focusing. With only the slightest bit of power, she prayed she could teleport. She decided that instead of letting fate determine where she went, she would focus on one of the links the guardians of the Stability Pieces had given her--Specifically, the one from the Piranha Plant.

 

She took a deep breath before concentrating, determined to slip out of this area and return to the forested dimension. Just when she thought she was about to teleport, however, the connection broke.

She blinked in surprise, not expecting that to happen. Was she still too weak to teleport? No, she felt as if she could do it, but…

 

 _Perhaps the other connection will work?_ She asked herself, then began to focus again. This time she thought of the desert kingdom, with its blue sand and friendly inhabitants. But just like before, right as she felt she was going to leave, the focus she had gathered was suddenly lost.

 

“I’m afraid that’s not going to work here.” A snarky voice echoed, causing Estelle to flinch in surprise. Before her eyes appeared the yellow-and-purple figure that had attacked her in the snowy dimension: Dimentio.

“What’s going on? Why can’t I teleport!” She demanded, not intimidated by his sudden appearance.

“Probably because I don’t want you to.” Dimentio replied coolly. “This is Dimension D, a place of my own creation. It’s small, but I crafted it so nobody can escape! A perfect place to keep a little hostage such as yourself, don’t you think?” He ended his taunt with a rather wicked smile.

“Let me go!” She cried desperately, wishing she could dart over to him and attack.

“Oh my, how brutish. Well, you’ve certainly convinced me, I guess I have no other choice.” He snapped back in a sarcastic tone. “No, actually, you’re fine where you are. Can’t have Fabula lose his will to cooperate, now can I?”

 

“What have you done to my mentor?” Estelle demanded. “There’s no way he’d work for you!”

“Maybe not with his memories, no, but… I found a workaround for that!” Dimentio winked, then snapped his fingers. In the air beside him appeared a pale golden mask, which Estelle immediately recognized.

“As long as I have this, that pink feather-brain you call a mentor is as loyal as a dog!”

“Mario and Luigi will stop you, I know they will!” She insisted. Her desire to slug him was increasing, but there wasn’t much she could do as a puffball.

“Aw, how cute. Well, you can go ahead and keep thinking that, if it makes you feel better. Right now, I just need you to sit tight and behave yourself. Who knows? If things go smoothly, perhaps I can let you out and you can work for me! Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Not letting Estelle respond, Dimentio cackled and vanished from sight, along with Fabula’s mask. All Estelle could do was growl in response, glaring daggers at the space where the jester had previously been.

It’s going to be a long wait, she thought, sighing. Being unable to do anything, all she could do was hope the brothers were on their way to take Dimentio down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well gee looks like shit's happening.............................
> 
> \----
> 
> 'snowish why isn't there as much art for this as usual--' SHUSHUSHUSSHUUUUUUUUUSH. lots of reasons. bUT DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT........... It's Fine.
> 
> The art is drawn by my lovely beta reader, cammie-chan64 on tumblr!!! Give them lots of love because it's Great. (there will be more pics soon but the fic's on hiatus for a bit so Eh)


	10. Aim...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY SO I REALLY FUCKING APOLOGIZE FOR THIS UPDATE TAKING SO DAMN LONG.  
> Not gonna lie, I got roped into other hyperfixations and shit and just. Couldn't find the time to complete it.  
> BUT I SWEAR WE ARE GETTING SUPER CLOSE TO THE END SO HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS.

 

 

“Stop right there, you overgrown harpy!” Gonzales Jr. cried, doing his best to keep up with the towering Magician.

Upon catching sight of the group exiting the pub, Fabula had turned around and started running in the opposite direction. He probably could have been less conspicuous had he not stayed at his height of ten feet, but it seemed that was not at the forefront of his mind right now.

“I DON’T EVEN HAVE WINGS!” He called back, doing his best to avoid stepping on the random residents who happened to be walking by.

Most townsfolk would probably be astonished at this sort of sight, but the citizens of Rogueport were barely even fazed. After all, it was a town with several crooks and a mob of Piantas. As far as they were concerned, this was just another Saturday.

“He doesn’t know the town very well, we can corner ‘im!” Bobbery shouted to Mario and Luigi. The plumbers exchanged looks before nodding, and Mario darted over to the Bob-omb in order to pick him up. Luigi, meanwhile, picked up speed, coming just short of Fabula’s feet.

 

The Magician was panicking. He could certainly just teleport again to get out of here but… He didn’t really want to waste time. Especially since Dimentio had told him not to. Not to mention, the Beanish with them could probably track where he went--and the Stability Piece was nearby, too!

Fabula would have continued this line of thought--if it weren’t for the bomb flying into his face, that is.

What the magician had been unaware of, being too busy trying to outrun the other three, was that Mario and Bobbery had taken advantage of Rogueport’s many tiny alleyways, using them as shortcuts in order to get in front of him. Once he was the right distance away, Mario tossed the sailor, who was ready to blow.

With a thundering BOOM, the area around Fabula’s face went up in smoke, and the Magican stumbled backwards. Chalk, Gonzales Jr., and Luigi quickly scrambled out of the way as he fell, not wanting to get pinned by him.

“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be!” Gonzales Jr. crowed, grinning. He walked up to Fabula and hopped onto his chest, leering down at the Magician’s stunned face.

“But now what do we do?” Luigi couldn’t help but ask. “Are we just gonna make him take us back to where Dimentio is?”

“Like I’d do that!” Fabula stammered, finally recovering from the blast. His face bore a couple of burn marks, but other than that he seemed fine--He was pretty hardy, come to think of it.

“He’s not going to do so willingly,” Chalk said, folding his arms. “We need to convince him.”

“What can you say that’ll change my mind?” The larger Magician growled. “What if I just stay here and refuse to do anything?”

“Are you sure?” Chalk asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because I can probably tell you a bit about yourself. You’ve probably been curious about that ever since you lost your mask, hm?”

Fabula was silent, avoiding Chalk’s eyes. It was clear Chalk was right, but Fabula didn’t seem too keen on admitting it.

“Well, for starters, you’re the student of my sister, Shear.”

 

This statement, however, prompted a response from the larger Magician. He frowned and looked back at Chalk, wondering if that was really true.

“Ah, that got your attention. Well, admittedly, I don’t know a whole lot about it with my mask being damaged, but at least now we can explain the important stuff.” Chalk continued.

“Fabula, you have to listen to us!” Mario piped in, moving towards the group with Bobbery. He had stayed back to check on the Bob-omb after he exploded, and aside from a little dizziness, Bobbery seemed just fine.

“Dimentio is lying to you--We haven’t done anything to Estelle.” Luigi insisted. “He’s the one who captured her!”

“Wh--That’s not--” Fabula tried to argue, but as he went over the facts, he couldn’t help but notice certain things didn’t add up. Why would they chase him if they were looking for the Stability Pieces like Dimentio had claimed?  It would just be a waste of time, after all…

“Fabula, we need your strength in order to save Estelle and get the Stability Pieces back. Dimentio is only going to cause harm with them.” Chalk said.

Fabula remained quiet. He seemed to be thinking, but the group didn’t have that kind of time.

“He’s going to destroy our home.” Luigi finally said in a quiet voice. “He’s going to destroy the homes of countless people. If we don’t get the Stability Pieces back, the worlds you took them from will fall apart. We can’t let that happen.”

The Magician looked to Luigi, an empathetic expression filling his face. Finally, he sighed and nodded, signaling that he would help out. Gonzales Jr. hopped off his chest, and he sat up, shrinking down to a size so they could better communicate with him.

“Now all we need is a plan to take down that bilge rat.” Bobbery said, looking amongst the group.

“Oh, that’s easy!” Gonzales Jr. said, puffing out his chest. “Now that we have Fabula on our side, at least! Let’s use his magic to our advantage! Have Fabula claim he’s got another Stability Piece, but then WHAMMO! It’s actually us!!”

“That just might work, actually.” Chalk said, putting a hand to his chin. He looked at Fabula expectantly, and the other Magician fidgeted a bit.

“I can probably transform you all so you’re super small… And then when the time’s right, make you normal size again. I dunno how well I’m gonna be able to face off against Dimentio, though. He’s pretty strong…”

“We can take him down if we work together.” Mario assured him. He was well aware that Dimentio was nothing to sneeze at. The Magician’s power was strong with the Chaos Heart--Who knows what it would be like with the Stability Pieces.

“If you say so…” Fabula mumbled.

* * *

 

“Ah, you’re back, Fabula. That was rather quick.” Dimentio said, grinning as widely as ever.

“It was quite an easy find!” Fabula replied, forcing a bit of a smile himself. “And I didn’t run into those two brothers--Seems you got rid of them for good!”

“Very good, very good… Frankly, I would have enjoyed making them suffer a bit more, but… Time is of the essence right now. With this last Stability Piece, I can finally--”

He paused. Something was off about Fabula’s expression. Though Dimentio had been playing Fabula along up to this point, the Magician didn’t seem very excited right now. Shouldn’t he be ecstatic at the fact he would be getting his mask back? (Not that Dimentio was really going to return it).

Instead, the older Magician was looking at him with a hardened and wary expression… Like he knew Dimentio was up to something.

_Well, wasn’t that nice._

“Is something the matter, Fabula?” He asked, not dropping his grin. He decided to feign ignorance, just to probe and see how correct he really was.

“Huh? N-Nothing, I--” Fabula mumbled, looking startled. “I was just… Thinking about Estelle. I’m really worried about her.”

“Ah, you needn’t worry! As I have said, we can get her back quite soon! Simply hand over the last Stability Piece, and we can get to work!”

Silence. Fabula did nothing to bring out the Stability Piece, and even seemed reluctant to do so.

That just proved Dimentio’s suspicions.

“Well… If you’re not going to produce the Stability Piece… How about you show me those new friends of yours that you’ve attempted to sneak in here?” He asked, his normally mischievous expression turning cold and intimidating.

Fabula’s jaw hung open. How did Dimentio catch on so fast? With a trembling hand, he snapped his fingers, making the shimmering forms of the other five appear on his shoulders. They were small at first, but when they jumped to the ground, Fabula waved his hand, causing them to revert to their normal size.

“Ah, there you all are! Oh, and it seems you’ve gained a couple of others, too!” Dimentio chuckled, not at all bothered by this outcome. He was upset it had come to this, sure, but he was hardly ever one to express such disappointment.

“So, you’ve convinced my pawn to side with you--I suppose you’ve managed to tell him I’ve been lying this whole time too, huh? Then I guess I don’t need to hide this anymore…”

Dimentio snapped his own fingers, producing Fabula’s golden mask beside him. The group tensed up, and Fabula’s fists clenched.

“Give back the mask and tell us where Estelle is!” Mario cried, stepping forward.

“Oh, but you’re assuming I’d be compliant enough to do that, my mustachioed friend!” Dimentio taunted, wagging a finger. “No, I think I’d much rather stomp you all out and get on with my plans.”

Before the others could react, Dimentio waved his hand, creating a tall wall of black flames in front of them. The group scattered, trying to avoid the dangerous hazard, but Fabula merely charged ahead, walking right through it as if it were nothing.

“Give me my mask back,” He snarled, reaching out for it.

Dimentio chuckled, amused at how angry the taller Magician was getting, and simply snapped his fingers to make it teleport just out of Fabula’s reach. Nobody said he couldn’t have fun while the others scrambled out!

 

“We need to help out Fabula!” Luigi cried, helping Chalk up from falling to the ground.

“I think I can part this fire,” Chalk replied. “But getting Fabula’s mask back is another story.”

“I can grab it!” Gonzales Jr. offered, hurrying over to the other two with Bobbery at his heels. “I’ve been practicing my flutter jump a lot--I can go super high now!”

“Then let’s do it,” Chalk said with a nod. “I’ll open up the flames, you go in and grab it. Get it back to Fabula at all costs.”

Gonzales Jr. nodded. He was ready for this.

 

\------

 

“Aw, are we getting tired already?” Dimentio said in mock sympathy. Fabula, who had been constantly lunging to try and get his mask back only for Dimentio to float out of the way, was starting to pant.

“STOP PLAYING GAMES!” Fabula managed in between breaths.

“Who says this is even a--” Dimentio started, but was cut off by a sudden cry to his left.

“GONZALES JR. TO THE RESCUE!”

Out of nowhere, the Yoshi from before appeared, waving his feet madly in the air. He was able to reach the height at which Dimentio was floating with ease, and grabbed the mask before the Magician could respond.

“Y-You little--” Dimentio stammered, for once taken aback. He hadn’t expected the brat to be able to pull something like that off! “When I get my hands on you, I’ll--”

Dimentio was unable to finish his threat. From behind came the sound of something else flying at him, and he barely had time to turn around before it hit.

A large fireball struck him, knocking him down to the ground and making him collapse in a smoky heap.

“Glad we stopped at a shop to pick a Fire Flower up,” Mario said. His clothing was now the red-overall-white-shirt coloration that showed up whenever he used the Fire Flower. Apparently he had snuck up on Dimentio and used the power-up while the Magician was distracted, charging up a massive attack to throw at Dimentio when the time was right.

 

“Here you go, Fabula!” Gonzales Jr. said, holding up the mask so the other Magician could reach it. It was pretty large for the Yoshi, but he was stronger than he looked.

Everyone gathered around Fabula as he picked up his Mask, almost hesitating to put it back on. But eventually he took a deep breath and put it on his face.

Nothing happened for a moment. It was almost as if he had put on a regular mask, nothing special. But then, a bright flash of light filled the area, making everyone shield their eyes or look away.

“I... “ Fabula began once the flash had faded. “I remember now! I remember what I was doing before I ran into Dimentio--I was looking for Estelle!”

“That’s great!” Luigi said, clapping his hands. Now they just needed to rescue her, and they could get the Stability Pieces back to--

 

“A shame, really.” Came Dimentio’s voice from a fair distance away.

Mario wasn’t surprised the large fireball hadn’t been enough to take him out. Dimentio was a powerful magician, after all. When the rest of the group turned to the sound, Mario prepped another fireball just in case.

 

“You were looking for her, and she had been right under your nose this whole time--even now.” Dimentio said.

He waved his hand, making the air around it shimmer, before producing a small sphere made of what appeared to be dark blue gas.

 

“ESTELLE!” Fabula cried, tensing up. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER, YOU--”

“Funny story, actually!” Dimentio laughed, not at all concerned that the entire group was ready to attack. He knew they wouldn’t risk it with their friend in the condition she was in, though.

“I was actually trying to kill her to make it seem like the brothers were up to no good--It probably would have worked, honestly--but as it turns out, she has some sort of form that activates whenever she takes major damage. I guess a bit of a last-resort, huh?

“I wonder what would happen if I were to attack her now… Surely she wouldn’t be able to fend that off, would she?”

“How dare you--” Chalk said, taking a step forward, but froze when Dimentio raised a hand full of magical light and pointed it at Estelle.

“Oh, I wouldn’t make any sudden moves if I were you.” Dimentio advised. “Not unless you want her to poof away completely.”

Fabula had gone silent. Luigi looked at the taller Magician warily, not sure what was wrong. Fabula seemed completely engulfed by his rage, and his feathers were turning an odd shade of purple.

“Let. Her. Go.” Was all Fabula managed. This command made everyone look at him in a similar manner to Luigi, however, because his voice had grown deep and garbled.

“Tell you want,” Dimentio said, not at all fazed by the change in Fabula. “Come back over here to me, and I’ll let her go.”

“What? No way will Fabula do something like that!” Gonzales Jr. insisted.

“How’s about ye give the lassie back, and we’ll maybe consider not reducing ye to ashes!” Bobbery chimed in.

But before anyone else could speak up, Fabula charged. His feathers were definitely purple now, and Luigi could have sworn he saw a crack go down the side of his mask. Was that due to damage, or something else?

“So it’s agreed, then!” Dimentio laughed.

 

He casually tossed Estelle to the side, no longer caring about her. Mario had to run up a few feet in order to catch her, but he didn’t have time to make sure she was okay.

When Fabula got closer to Dimentio, intending to tear him apart, Dimentio snapped his fingers once again.

The Stability Pieces appeared, hovering around the Magician. As they began to glow with a blinding light, Luigi felt his heart fall into his stomach.

Somehow he knew what was happening. And he was helpless to stop it.

A small shockwave shook the area, sending everyone to the ground. Whatever magic had been used was powerful, and it left a strange charge of power in the air.

When the light cleared, everyone could only stare in horror at the result that awaited them.

Fabula and Dimentio had fused.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF the art at the end there is a LITTLE inaccurate, namely in the sense that I forgot to draw the second pair of arms on Dimentula (what I'm calling the fusion). It's an old piece and I might be tempted to fix it, but the error will be rectified in any further art.


	11. Fire! (Or: Our Grand Finale)

** **

* * *

 

 

 **“My, my!”** The new abomination growled, waving its arms a bit so as to get used to them. **“This old geezer is more useful than I thought--could stand to have fewer feathers, though.”**

The group rose to their feet, too shocked to really say anything. Mario and Luigi were familiar with this (Luigi had experienced it firsthand, after all). Dimentio had used the power of the Stability Pieces to fuse with Fabula.

**“Well, if you’re just going to stand there, I suppose I’ll use this opportunity to finally be rid of you all!”**

**_FWOOM._ **

A burst of magic struck the ground where everyone had gathered, making them all scramble to get away. Luigi and Gonzales Jr. stumbled while Chalk grabbed Bobbery by the wheel on his back and ran.

Mario, still clinging to Estelle, took off after the rest, not sure what to do. The fire flower had worn off by now, and they had only bought the one. They needed to figure out how to stop this, and he wasn’t sure another bomb in the face would do anything.

“We need to get outta here!” Gonzales Jr. cried, scrambling to avoid more attacks. “Bean-head, can you--”

“Don’t call me that,” Chalk growled. “But I could, if you think it’s too dangerous. I’m staying, though. We can’t leave Fabula melded with that monster.”

“Well, now that you put it like that…” The Yoshi mumbled, looking ashamed.

With a bit of effort, Chalk managed to put up a barrier between the group and another strong magic bolt. As he tried to hold it up against further strikes, he looked desperately to the group. Apparently defending against Dimentio and Fabula’s powers combined was pushing him to his limits.

 

“If anyone has any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated!” He managed through grit teeth.

“Wh-What’s going on?”

Everyone went quiet, looking between each other before realizing the voice had come from the figure in Mario’s arms.

Estelle had woken up, and seemed very dazed. Her white eyes shifted around slowly, only widening when she realized what sort of situation they were all in.

“Why are we--Where’s Fabula?” The gaseous material she was made of writhed uncomfortably as he spoke.

“Dimentio tricked him.” Chalk answered, seeming even more strained now. Cracks were starting to form on the barrier. It wouldn’t be very long before it broke.

“The two fused, so now we need to find out how to stop them.”

Estelle remained quiet for a moment, looking past the barrier to see what had become of her mentor. After a few seconds, she blinked, realizing something.

“The Stability Pieces,” She managed. “They appear every now and then, usually before he makes an attack. If we take them back--”

 

**_BANG._ **

The barrier broke.

Everyone was sent skittering away. Chalk took most of the blast and crumpled to his knees while the rest of the group managed to right themselves. Mario almost let go of Estelle, but he was quick to regain his grip before she could fall to the ground.

 **“ENOUGH GAMES.”** The fusion said, clenching all four of its fists. **“IF I HAVE TO TAKE YOU DOWN ONE BY ONE, THEN SO BE IT. EENY, MEENY, MINEY…”**

Its finger stopped, pointing at the hunched figure of Chalk.

**“BEAN-HEAD.”**

It raised its hands with a bit of a flourish, taking great pride as it gathered power for its next attack.

If Chalk was aware he was being targeted, he didn’t react. He was still trembling from taking the last hit, and seemed to be having difficulty getting up.

“There!” Estelle cried, gesturing towards the fusion.

Sure enough, as she had mentioned earlier, the four Stability Pieces appeared around the fusion. Their rainbow light shone brightly as they gave power to the gathering magic.

“We need to get them now, before--”

_“ALREADY ON IT!”_

 

Gonzales Jr. had jumped into the fray, managing to grab onto the fusion’s skirt. He began to climb, not caring if he was noticed or not. He would do anything it took to help save everyone.

 **“YOU LITTLE--”** Came the fusion’s garbled roar. Desperate to get the Yoshi off, it fired the attack at Chalk, giving little regard for aim, then turned to look down at him.

“Can’t catch me, you big ol’ circus freak!” Gonzales Jr. taunted. He began to hop from arm, slowly making his way up the fusion’s body while avoiding the floating hands that were trying to grab at him. Being an experienced fighter certainly had its perks.

Even with the awkward aim, Chalk couldn’t get out of the way of the attack in time. The most he could do his hold up his cape to try and deflect some of it, but even then he was knocked back several yards, eventually collapsing and going still.

“Chalk! Chalk, are you okay?” Bobbery asked, hurrying over to the Beanish. He looked Chalk over for a moment, concerned, but breathed a sigh of relief once he found out that Chalk was merely unconscious. That would be a problem, given he was their most powerful ally, but at least he would be okay.

 _“HEY, LUIGI! CATCH!”_ Came the Yoshi’s shout.

Having hopped on the fusion’s head and doing a pretty good job of jumping out of the way of its grabbing, Gonzales Jr. was already in possession of one of the Stability Pieces. Once he had caught Mario’s attention, he flung the puzzle piece down to the plumber.

It was in the moment he threw the piece, however, that the fusion managed to grab him. Squeezing the Yoshi tightly and letting out a roar, he turned in Luigi’s direction.

Luigi, who had remained out of the way and mostly quiet for the entirety of the fight, froze in place when he locked eyes (or faces, considering the fusion didn’t have eyes) with the large figure.

He had managed to catch the Stability Piece, but was clutching it to his chest, knees knocking and face paling. This was his worst fear come to life. There was no doubt he would be the next to be targeted.

 **“GIVE THAT BACK!”** The fusion roared, taking a step towards the green plumber. It seemed completely oblivious to everyone else, even the Yoshi squirming in one of its hands.

Luigi didn’t respond. He could only stumble as he tried to step backwards himself. His eyes were unfocused as the grip on the piece began to falter.

The fusion growled again and looked ready to prepare another attack, but it froze it place. Its face went slack, and the hand holding Gonzales Jr. let go, allowing the Yoshi to bounce down its body, to the ground, and a safe distance away.

 **_“LEAVE THEM ALONE.”_ ** The fusion managed through grit teeth, stepping back and biting one of its own hands.

Nobody in the group was sure what was going on, but Estelle saw an opportunity in it.

“LUIGI, TOSS IT OVER HERE!” She yelled, managing to snap the plumber out of his daze.

After a bit of fumbling, Luigi was able to toss the Stability Piece to his brother, who was miraculously able to catch it with one free hand. With Estelle’s instruction, he set the piece on the ground next to her, curious as to what was going to happen.

The Stability Piece began to glow next to Estelle, and after a few seconds, a column of the same smoky substance she was made up began to form around her. It enveloped both her and the Stability Piece, to the point Mario couldn’t see the piece’s glow through the haze.

Several seconds passed. Bobbery spared another anxious glance towards Chalk. Gonzales Jr. ran over to Luigi to try and calm him down. Mario looked warily at the fusion, who was still inflicting harm on itself.

And then the haze cleared. Estelle was no longer a small ball of gas, but her regular humanoid form. She held the Stability Piece in one hand and was giving a determined look. Apparently the magic emanating from the piece had been enough to help her reform.

“Now we need to get the rest of them.” She urged.

 

That would be no easy task. By now, the fusion had snapped out of its episode, and was turning back towards the group. Its tail lashed in a wide arc, and the color of the area began to turn a dark red--just like when Dimentio and Chalk had fought.

**“Damn old geezer… But ONE Stability Piece gone isn’t enough to loosen my hold!”**

At these words, Mario and Luigi locked eyes. So the Stability Pieces were helping Dimentio maintain control over Fabula? Then they just needed to grab the rest of them, and they would split! No fighting necessary!

“We need to distract him,” Estelle said, reading their minds. “Find a way to get the pieces back.”

“What about the one you have?” Mario asked, pointing to her hand. “Couldn’t you use it like you did in the desert kingdom?”

Estelle’s eyes widened a bit, as if that hadn’t come to mind. As she thought on it more, however, a look of concern crossed her face.

“I… I don’t want to risk hurting Fabula.” She admitted.

“I think it’s a little bit too late for that.” Gonzales Jr. said grimly as he and Luigi got closer to her and Mario. “Besides, it can’t be worse than anything Dimentio’s done to him! We owe it to him to get him outta that situation!”

Estelle looked ready to argue, but she didn’t have the time. The fusion brought a claw down between the four, smashing into the ground and forcing them to scatter once more.

This made up Estelle’s mind. If it meant taking down Dimentio and making sure her mentor was okay… Then maybe the risk was worth it.

 

As she ran from the fusion, she began to focus. She probably only had one shot to attack, so she would need to make the best of it. All she had to do was gather power, take position, aim for him… Shouldn’t be too hard, right?

Ah, well it probably wouldn’t have been had the fusion not been chasing after her. It wasn’t surprising, considering she had the Stability Piece, which was currently the equivalent of a bright red bullseye on her back, but it was certainly going to be a problem.

But then the fusion stumbled. It had tripped itself with its own tail. It wasn’t enough to make it fall down, but it did grant Estelle some time to put more distance between the two of them. It also showed that Fabula was still in there, trying to fight against Dimentio and help the rest of them win.

Once she was sure she had enough time, Estelle skidded to a halt and turned around to face the fusion. It seemed to be struggling to move, another hindrance by Fabula, most likely.

Estelle held out the Stability Piece, focusing her magic. The piece began to glow as energy gathered around it, and it even began to shake a little in Estelle’s grip.

All she had to do was… Fire…

But even then, she couldn’t. The fusion, though delayed, was still getting closer. But Fabula was still in there somewhere. What if she hurt him more than was needed? She still barely remembered anything about him, but if he was her mentor, she…

“ESTELLE!”

The voice snapped her out of her hesitation. Closing her eyes and looking away, she fired her attack.

Had she been looking, she would realize that her beam of magic wasn’t the only one that hit the fusion. While a burst of white light shot out of the Stability Piece and struck the fusion in the chest, another beam of blue managed to hit it in the side.

The fusion gave a roar as it stumbled, not expecting such power, and started to fall over. There was a mighty CRASH as it hit the ground, and then went still. The Stability Pieces that had hung in the air fell to the ground and bounced away.

“Is everyone alright?” Somebody asked. It was the same voice that had called Estelle’s name moments before. A glance in its direction revealed it to be Chalk, who was making his way over to the rest of the group with the support of Bobbery.

“We should ask you that, bean-he--uh, Chalk.” Gonzales Jr. said as he arrived with the brothers. “You don’t look so hot. You sure you’re fine after firing that attack?”

“Perhaps I spent a little too much energy right after waking up, but I--” Chalk began, but was interrupted by the entire area going dark.

 

Nobody moved. All they could do was glance warily about.

The world had turned black, with only faint streaks of pink and blue arcing across to allow enough light to see. Everyone was reduced to vague shapes in the dim light, all gathered some distance away from the collapsed fusion.

“What’s going on?” Luigi finally whispered, wringing his hands. “Shouldn’t Dimentio and Fabula be separated by now?”

“They should.” Chalk responded. “Fusion, when one Magician is unwilling, is--”

**“Now you’ve done it.”**

That voice did not belong to anyone in the group. No, that was… That was Dimentio’s voice. But it didn’t seem to be speaking to any of them.

All eyes turned slowly to the shape that was the fusion, not really sure what should be done in this situation. If Chalk knew anything about what was going on, he wasn’t speaking up.

**“You just went and cost me SEVEN YEARS of planning.”**

_“Please just stop I just want to go back home I just want to get back to Estelle I--”_

**“No. NO. I will not grant you that luxury. Even without the Stability Pieces, I still have a good enough hold on your mind. What if I** **_TORE IT APART FROM THE INSIDE OUT?_ ** **I wonder what would happen? I never got the chance to try with that green-clad buffoon, you know.”**

“Everyone, get the Stability Pieces!” Chalk suddenly cried, pointing to the pieces that had fallen moments before. “We need to force the two of them apart!”

“Why can we hear all of this mumbo-jumbo anyway?” Gonzales Jr. asked as he hurried over to one.

“It’s a sign that their fusion is destabilizing, but… Dimentio must be doing his best to maintain it on his own. These are their thoughts, not stuff they’re actually saying.” Chalk answered. Bobbery had left him momentarily to grab a piece as well.

 **“So many happy memories you finally have back! I’m so glad… It will make it that much more satisfying as I** **_rip them to shreds_ ** **.”**

_“PLEASE, DON’T--”_

**“Too late to beg for mercy. If I’m going to be defeated, I intend on inflicting as much damage as possible before leaving.”**

“Now what?” Luigi called, holding up the last piece. He was shaking all over, and only looked like he was half-focused, but it was understandable as to why. Dimentio likely put him through the same hell when they were fused all that time ago.

“We… We need to…” Chalk started, but then groaned. He couldn’t remember. Why now, of all times?

_“STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP--”_

“EVERYONE JUST ATTACK THE DANG THING!” Gonzales Jr. cried, holding his piece up high. It flashed with bright white light, preparing some magic.

Reluctantly, everyone else did the same. Perhaps one more strike would help force the Magicians to separate.

 

But as it turned out, they didn’t need to attack at all. The fusion’s form suddenly started to glow, and the world changed from black back to its usual blue and purple hues.

Once the light had cleared, it showed the forms of Fabula and Dimentio. Fabula was much smaller than normal, curled up into a ball and clutching his head with all four of his hands. Dimentio, on the other hand, was standing, only slightly hunched as he glared at everyone else.

“I will not… Give up…” He managed, breathing heavily.

He started to take a step forward, but a burst of magic hit him in the side and made him fall over. With a growl, he looked to see who had fired it.

Luigi, still shaking violently and face paler than a Boo, gulped when Dimentio locked eyes with him. He hadn’t even consciously thought about attacking the Magician, it was just a reflex!

Silence hung in the air as everyone went still, too scared to even breathe. Dimentio looked as if he was ready to burn a hole right through Luigi’s head with the glare he was giving him.

But then, the Magician hissed and looked away.

“I will not give up… I will be back.” He muttered.

Before anyone could stop him, he vanished in a flash of black and white, obviously off to some other dimension in order to recuperate.

 

Once he was gone, the heaviness in the air eased up--if only a little. Everyone relaxed, Chalk leaning more on Bobbery and Luigi almost falling over before Mario ran over to support him.

Everyone, that is, except Estelle. She had hurried over to Fabula the second Dimentio had disappeared, worried something was wrong.

The Magician, usually a staggering height of well over eight feet, was now maybe four at the most. His feathers were the same bright blue they always were when he was upset, but they all hung limp on his body. Aside from some shaking and almost indiscernible muttering, he barely looked conscious.

“Fabula?” She asked. She still knew barely anything about him, but there was a deep pain in her chest as she looked at him in this state.

“Is he alright?” Gonzales Jr. asked, walking carefully over to the two.

“I don’t know,” She answered. “I… The fusion might have been very stressful for him.”

Luigi tried to say something, but was still too shaky from before, so it wasn’t understandable.

“Estelle, I know this might be a little soon, but…” Chalk started as he and Bobbery joined the others. “I have something you need.”

She looked warily over to him as he rummaged in his cloak, eventually pulling out something she recognized from the picture Shard had given her--her mask.

“You should put this on.” Chalk insisted, pushing it towards her hands.

Estelle set the Stability Piece, which she had been clutching tightly for the past few minutes, on the ground before accepting her mask. The energy the piece had provided ebbed out of her, but unlike in the desert, she did not pass out.

She took a moment to look over the mask first. It had faint pink stains, very clearly her own blood, surrounding a large chunk of missing material near the eye.

She took a careful breath, and turned the mask so she could place it on her face.

 

It fit her perfectly. Though the mask seemed flat and lacked any straps, it managed to hang effortlessly on her face, and she barely felt its weight.

Nothing seemed to happen for a moment after she put it on. Everyone stared at her cautiously, probably expecting some sort of light show. Restoration of memories had to come with that sort of thing, right?

But… No. It wasn’t anything like that. All it felt like to Estelle was that she was suddenly remembering something that should have been painfully obvious. Had she really forgotten that much of her life because she lost her mask? Had she really been traveling for that many years without it?

“Fabula!” She cried out, suddenly much more urgent than before. Why was he so small? He never went that small unless something was wrong. She needed to make sure he was okay.

Estelle took Fabula’s shoulders and did her best to sit him up, ushering a groan from the older Magician. The eyes on the top of his mask blinked open slowly and it took him a moment to make sense of his surroundings.

“Estelle… ?” He managed once he caught sight of his student. He seemed surprised to see her, but even more so when he realized she was wearing her mask. Once that registered, he sat all the way up, his mask flipping around and his feathers turning pink.

“Estelle! Y-You have your mask back!” He said, his arms raising in relief. “I-Are you alright? I shouldn’t have trusted Dimentio, I’m so sorry for all of this, I--”

And before he could speak another word, he reached forward and wrapped her up in a big hug. He was just so happy to see her again, it took all his power not to cry.

“I’m just fine, Fabula…” She assured him, hugging back. “But... “

She looked between the group, a puzzled expression in her eyes.

“Who’s Dimentio?”

At this, everyone went still, even Fabula.

“Who’s?--The jester we just fought, lady!--” Gonzales Jr. began, but but interrupted by Chalk.

“It doesn’t matter.” He said, his voice a bit more harsh than usual. “All that matters is Estelle has her memories back and is reunited with Fabula. We can’t waste much more time, anyway. We need to get the Stability Pieces back to their proper dimensions.”

“I should do that,” Fabula offered, pulling away from Estelle. “I’m the one who stole them, after all.”

“I’ll help.” Chalk offered as Fabula and Estelle stood up. “Could you take the pieces for now and wait a moment? I need to speak to the others. You and Estelle should probably have some time catching up too, huh?”

Fabula nodded gratefully as he took the Stability Pieces from everyone else. Once he had them all, he grew back to his usual height and took Estelle’s hand, the pair of them walking a few meters away to chat.

 

Once they were out of earshot, Chalk sighed and turned to the other four.

“Estelle doesn’t remember Dimentio.” He said simply, earning weird looks from the rest.

“But why? We JUST dealt with him!” Gonzales Jr. asked, throwing his hands us in exasperation.

“Her mask.” Chalk replied. “It’s broken. Broken masks mean damaged memories. It seems all her memories of Dimentio are gone because of the damage. Who knows what else is gone, though.”

“Then it’s probably best not to say too much about it.” Bobbery said. “Wouldn’t want her to get stressed out.”

“Exactly.” Chalk agreed. “Fabula probably understands too, so he’ll probably come up with an explanation for her.”

“Is Fabula going to be okay?” Came Luigi’s unsteady voice. He was still being supported by Mario, but looked a bit better now that he had had some time to rest.

Chalk didn’t respond right away. It seemed he was having trouble coming up with an answer for that.

“I don’t know.” He answered, figuring he might as well be honest. “Fusing is a very dangerous magic, because it blends everything about the individuals involved. If they don’t separate properly, there could be problems. But Dimentio seemed to be able to cause damage from the inside as well.”

“If he has problems… Do you think I could help?” Luigi asked.

Chalk blinked, a little surprised at the plumber’s offer.

“Dimentio did something very similar to me when we first fought him,” Luigi explained, looking sheepishly at the ground. “I figured if Fabula needed it, I could…”

“That’s a very kind offer.” Chalk said, relaxing a bit and smiling for the first time in a while. “I’ll let him know, then. But… I think everyone is getting tired. And this pocket dimension probably won’t remain stable for long now that Dimentio’s gone. What do you say we get everyone home now?”

 

* * *

 

It was late at night in the Mushroom Kingdom when Mario and Luigi had arrived home.

They had stopped off at Rogueport to bid farewell to Bobbery and Gonzales Jr. (with the Yoshi insisting Mario come by soon for that promised match), then went with Fabula and Estelle to return the Stability Piece to Miss Gills and Kyle.

“I’m so-so-so-so sorry!” Fabula had wailed, bowing his head deeply at the two. Once things had been explained, however, Miss Gills assured Fabula that all was forgiven.

“I’m just glad you got back before too much damage was done to the dimension,” She sighed. “Kyle and I did our best to keep things stable, but now we’re exhausted.”

“We should probably hurry to the other dimensions.” Estelle urged Fabula, who had finally relaxed a bit.

“Guess this is goodbye for now, then!” Fabula said, turning to the brothers. “Again, I’m really sorry I put you through all this.”

“It’s fine!” Mario assured him. “And you can always count on us if you need help again!”

And so, the two groups bid farewell, the two Magicians shimmering out of view and leaving the plumbers with Miss Gills and Kyle.

“Farewell, Mario Brothers!” Kyle said, waving to the plumbers as they began to walk in the direction of their house. Mario and Luigi waved in return, then picked up the pace, wanting to get home before it got too dark.

But as the two were about to unlock their door, a voice stopped them.

 

“MARIO! LUIGI!”

Much to their surprise, it was the Koopa from before--the one who asked for help in her garden.

“I know it’s really late, but--It happened again, and the Cheep Cheeps are worse than ever.” She panted, jogging up to the pair. “You don’t think you could…?”

At this, Luigi sighed and gave a bit of a chuckle.

“‘You can always count on us,’ huh?” He asked Mario mischievously.

“Of course!” Mario answered, raising an arm happily. “C’mon, I still have some energy in me! Let’s help her out before we go to bed!”

“Ah, alright, might as well.” Luigi answered. “At least I’m not sick anymore!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND WOOOOO! WE'RE FINALLY DONE!
> 
> With the main story at least.
> 
> Because, hey! Don't things seem a little... Too wrapped up? After all, there are some things touched upon during the story that definitely seem interesting--Not to mention, Fabula was off doing his own stuff the whole time. How does he feel about all this?
> 
> Well, have no fear! I have three epilogues planned for this that will sort of connect a couple more parts. One's for Chalk, another is for Fabula and Estelle, and the last is for Dimentio!
> 
> Dunno when they'll be done, but keep your eyes peeled!


	12. Epilogue 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything ends up being connected in ways you would have never thought, huh?

* * *

 

It had been three months since Dimentio’s defeat.

It was hard to get back into the swing of things for Fabula and Estelle. Not only were they still rattled and exhausted by the adventure, but it had been so long since they were last together.

Fabula wasn’t too surprised when Estelle asked for a little time to herself once they got back to their little home. Frankly, he needed some time as well. Having so many memories back now… He just hoped he would never lose his mask again.

But Estelle wasn’t the only one who wanted to reflect on things. Fabula, too, spent some time mulling over his reclaimed memories. Now that he could go over them, a certain series of events would not stop hounding him.

The memories concerned Chalk. When maskless, Fabula was surprised to hear that he had any sort of connection to the strange Beanish, but now he felt like he should kick himself for being so stupid.

It was only Chalk, the brother of his mentor who had been missing for several centuries! Totally nothing to worry about, right?

No, it was definitely something to worry about.

Especially since it was Fabula’s fault that Chalk’s mask was broken.

So one day, shortly after Estelle had woken up, Fabula told her that he would be leaving for a while. He wasn’t sure how she would fare on her own (namely because she had already been alone for… Over seventy years, by his calculations), but her response didn’t indicate any distress.

“I’ll be here,” She said with a casual shrug. “Perhaps go out and see how everyone is doing. Goodness knows we have a lot to catch up on.”

Taking that as a sign things would be alright, Fabula did not waste time making himself scarce. He needed to confront this issue as soon as possible.

 

Oh, but he probably should have at least grabbed a cloak or something.

He winced as he appeared in the freezing wind, squinting hard and trying to see through the blizzard that was twisting around him. Thank goodness he could see the lights of the cabin from here. He didn’t know what he would do if he had been anywhere else.

In three swift strides, he was at the door and knocking loudly. As he waited for Chalk to answer, he took a moment to shrink himself down to a less intimidating height--five feet seemed good. Besides, his usual eight-foot stature stood well over the cabin’s roof; it would be very hard getting in.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing the wary face of Chalk, who only dropped his guard when he realized it was Fabula.

“It’s been a while,” He said, ushering the feathered Magician in. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Fabula took a moment to look around the place. He hadn’t really had the opportunity to when he, well, attacked it, and he was curious as to what his mentor’s brother was up to these days.

Masks, clearly belonging to other Magicians, hung on the walls--not too surprising. Fabula was aware Chalk’s powers had to do with memories, and even if he was stubborn, he still shared Shear’s sense of--

Oh... right. Shouldn’t get too off track now. He needed to speak with Chalk.

 

“Where’s Tromp?” Fabula asked, recalling the odd creature that called Chalk her ‘poppa.’ As far as adoptive families went, Fabula had certainly seen stranger, but… Chalk never seemed like the fatherly type to him.

“She’s outside running somewhere.” Chalk explained as he gestured for Fabula to take a seat on the couch. “Should I call her--”

“That won’t be necessary.” Fabula assured him. It was probably better this conversation just be between him and Chalk. It was very personal, after all.

Chalk brought in a chair from another room and place it opposite to Fabula. When he was seated, he looked expectantly at the other Magician, wondering what this house call was for.

“So… Do you remember me?” Fabula asked flatly. “Not just from three months ago, but--Who I am to you as a whole.”

“So we have met before.” Chalk said mysteriously. “Ever since I looked at Estelle’s memories, you have had an aura of familiarity about you. I just… Couldn’t place it. All I know is you were the student of my sister… Shear.”

“I am that… And a lot more.” Fabula admitted. “I don’t know just how much you can recall, so… Do you mind if I start from the beginning?”

When Chalk nodded, Fabula took a deep breath and plunged into his story.

 

* * *

 

_“Chalk!” Came the light and melodious call of Shear. She stood by the front door of their home, propping it slightly open so somebody could follow her in from outside._

_“Chalk, come down, I want to introduce you to somebody!”_

_“You two have this place all to yourselves?” Her guest whistled as he walked in. He moved his amber eyes about slowly, taking everything in._

_For a house that was supposedly only occupied by two people, it was pretty lavish, Fabula had to admit. Several different paintings and tapestries covered the wall, and the furniture looked like it was made purely for presentation, not sitting on._

_“We are one of the oldest families in town,” Shear replied with a giggle. “We were thinking about moving out to put this place to better use, anyway--Not that it would affect Chalk, though. We were thinking this could be a new place for the Elders to discuss town issues, but if Chalk’s going to become one, he wouldn’t have to move at all!”_

_“That won’t be for another few centuries, Shear.” Came a chiding voice from the stairwell._

_Shear grinned at Fabula and took one of his hands, leading him to the foot of the steps so he could meet her brother._

_“Elders are called that for a reason.” Chalk continued as he took his time coming down the steps. He was holding a rather battered book in one hand and gripping the banister in the other. He was too involved in reading to notice the guest just yet._

_“I’m only 450,” He sighed as he reached one of the last steps. “You need to be at least 600 to qualify, and--”_

_Chalk froze when he finally looked up from his book, catching sight of Fabula. A tense silence began to fill the air as the two locked eyes for several moments._

 

_“Fabula Executo.” Chalk said snidely. “Sonatus Town’s own little prodigy.”_

_“So you already know him, good!” Shear said, smiling. She was apparently oblivious to the friction rapidly forming between the other two. “He’s very skilled with magic, even though he doesn’t have his mask yet!”_

_“Yes, so I’ve heard.” Chalk grumbled. “But I’ve also heard he’s an arrogant troublemaker as well. Don’t tell me you’re actually considering becoming his mentor?”_

_At Chalk’s accusation, Fabula scowled, baring his fangs. He said nothing to dispute the older Magician’s claims, however._

_“Chalk, be polite!” Shear scolded. “And I’m not just considering, I’ve made everything official! I’m going to train Fabula once he gets his mask. Until then, I thought it would be nice for him to visit and get to know who he will be working with.”_

_“Then I’ll have nothing to do with it.” Chalk said, turning around and starting back up the steps._

_“Don’t be like that!” Shear snapped, puffing her cheeks._

_“Shear, this kid is a public nuisance who does nothing with his abilities but cause trouble for everyone else!” Chalk called back._

_“HEY!” Fabula piped up, the feathers on his torso flaring out. “YOU GOT STUFF TO SAY ABOUT ME, YOU SAY IT TO MY FACE!”_

_“Fine.” Chalk grunted. He whipped around and stomped down the stairs, stopping once he was eye level with the younger Magician._

 

_ _

_“You are a snot-nosed little hellion that will only spread annoyance and problems wherever you go. Shear is being too kind in giving you a chance, but I can’t blame her because she gives_ everyone _a chance--even those who don’t deserve it.” He hissed._

_Fabula looked ready to pounce on Chalk, but Shear stuck an arm between the two, her face dark. Chalk understood what the meant and backed off, but Fabula was still fuming._

_“WHAT GIVES YOU THE DAMN RIGHT TO--”_

_“Fabula, how about we go do something else now.” Shear said, her voice calm but clearly hiding a lot of fury._

_Fabula almost snapped at her, but then he looked at Chalk. After a moment of pondering whether it would be worth it, he merely scoffed and turned around, walking back to the door._

_“We’re going to talk about this later, Chalk.” Shear warned as her brother began walking up the stairs again. “And whether you like it or not, I will be mentoring Fabula.”_

 

_She then went over to where Fabula was waiting, nodding solemnly as a form of apology._

_“Usually we get along so well… But when we do lock horns, it can get pretty intense. I suppose we should take our training elsewhere for now, maybe try to ease back in here later on.”_

_Fabula scoffed, rolling his eyes._

_“Maybe he’ll warm up, but I sure as hell won’t!” He spat. “Not if he’s gonna treat me like that.”_

_“Think about it this way,” Shear sighed, smiling patiently. “It’s a movie. You and Chalk are the main characters, and you just can’t seem to get along. But then, at the climax of the plot, you two finally set aside your difference and realize being friends isn’t so bad!”_

_“That’s a… Very odd way of putting it.” He grumbled back._

_“It’s just to help you visualize things. But if you want to get along with Chalk, we still have to go through several more scenes! So come on, let’s go!”_

_Without waiting for Fabula’s response, Shear took one of his hands and pulled him out the door._

 

* * *

 

“I find it a bit hard to believe we didn’t get along…” Chalk mumbled rubbing the side of his head. The things Fabula was telling him seemed too strange to be true, but as he thought them over, he couldn’t help but realize he could recall them faintly.

“Well, we didn’t.” Fabula replied quietly. His feathers were drooping a little bit, but otherwise gave no indication as to what his mood was. “It was like that for a while, actually. We would bicker and get close to a tussle whenever we interacted. We’d only stop when Shear spoke up.”

It hurt Fabula to recall all of this. But Chalk couldn’t remember any of it, so it was his responsibility to remind him.

“Eventually, things escalated to the point that…” He started, but folded his hands together in a swift motion. This was the most difficult part to admit.

 

* * *

_“Fabula…” Shear’s voice, muffled by her hands, was trembling. “What have you done?”_

_The young Magician remained silent, his four arms trembling. The hand that had fired the last bolt of magic shook a bit more than the others, some form of smoke billowing from its palm._

_Before Fabula lay Chalk, who was clutching his face and breathing heavily. Fabula, however, knew there was no damage to the Beanish. The real result of his attack lay evident on the ground, nothing but fragments by Chalk’s knees._

_Fabula had destroyed part of Chalk’s mask._

_“I…” Fabula tried to find his voice, but it died almost immediately. The devastated look his mentor was giving him was too much._

_Not wanting to face the punishment that was in store for this, he did the only thing he could: Flee. He darted around Chalk and pushed past his mentor, not realizing his feathers had become blue. He faintly heard Shear call after him, but he didn’t turn around._

 

_What he did was unforgivable._

 

* * *

 

 

An uneasy silence hung in the air after Fabula had confessed to what he had done. His hands shook slightly, and he avoided looking directly at Chalk--what would he think of him now?

Chalk, however, remained quiet. He stared into the open air, mulling over everything Fabula had told him.

The first words Chalk spoke after the silence certainly weren’t what Fabula was expecting--but they still disturbed him all the same.

 

“So where is Shear now?”

Fabula made a noise of unease, one pair of hands instinctively reaching up to start plucking at the feathers on his chest. He always did this when he was upset, but he took a few seconds to try and stop himself. He needed to confront this with a clear head.

“Shear is… Well, that’s the thing. When I damage your mask, you… Didn’t remember her. You didn’t even remember you had a family, or a life back in Sonatus. So you left without a goodbye.”

Chalk nodded absently at this. The earliest things he could recall were winding up in this dimension and building the cabin, eventually discovering Tromp’s egg as well. But that didn’t answer his question.

“Shear didn’t take your leaving very well,” Fabula continued without prompt. “Eventually, she left home too. I had to continue my training with somebody else.”

The Beanish looked at Fabula worriedly. Was it him, or was Fabula’s voice starting to get tight?

“That’s why I came here, Chalk.” Fabula went on. His voice was definitely being influenced by his emotions. His feathers were starting to droop and turn their classic shade of blue.

“It’s my fault you left. My fault Shear left. It’s my fault yo-you can’t rem-remember-er her, and tha-that you never-never got to say-say good-good-goodbye--”

Now Fabula was crying. No tears came from the eyes on his mask, but he still covered them as he sobbed.

Chalk didn’t realize it at first, but he was crying too. It was only until he felt a tear dripping of his chin did he notice how much he was affected by this information.

His sister, who he barely remembered, was now gone.

But… Even knowing that Fabula was the catalyst for it all… He didn’t feel upset at him. It probably took a lot of courage to come clean and admit such a heavy mistake.

“Fabula… Fabula, it’s alright.” Chalk managed.

Fabula didn’t respond. His sobs were stronger now, louder even. Had he even heard Chalk? The Beanish was speaking pretty quietly…

“Fabula. I forgive you.”

 

At this, Fabula’s crying faltered. Had he heard Chalk right? Did Chalk really forgive him?

“But I ruined your life… Separated you from your family… Made you forget you even had one.” He mumbled.

“Maybe so, but… It’s not like my life has been terrible because of that.” Chalk admitted. “I found Tromp. I reunited some Magicians with their masks, Estelle included. I might not have even been around to help with Dimentio had you not… Destroyed my mask.”

“Besides, you’re clearly a changed person. You have a good heart and managed to tell me all this. Who am I to reject that sort of thing?” He finished.

“I… I guess you’re-you’re right.” Fabula managed, his breath still a little shaky from crying. “I still feel terrible about it, though.”

“Please don’t.” Chalk assured him. “Just try to calm down for now.”

 

Fabula nodded and did his best to take deep breaths. Even as he did his best to relax, however, he still felt Chalk would want to know more.

“Is there anything else… You want to hear about her?” He was able to get out, shoulders still trembling a bit.

“Where did she go?” Chalk managed to ask.

“A nice little… Little desert kingdom called… Lora.” Fabula answered in-between sniffles. “You’d be sur-surprised to hear what she-she was up to there.”

“So she was able to be… Happy?”

“She became their queen. I even visited her from time to time--introduced Estelle to her. From what I heard, even in her last moments, she put the kingdom’s needs above her own. She died trying to protect them.” Fabula’s voice was relaxing now, and while he still sniffled once or twice, it seemed he was over the initial surge of emotion.

“Do you think… We could to see…?” Chalk asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Fabula nodded. “There’s lots for you to catch up on. Would you like to go now?”

“Sure, let me just leave a note for Tromp.” Chalk replied, getting up from his seat.

 

* * *

 

 

A short while later, Fabula and Chalk were soon on their way to Lora.

Fabula was feeling much better now that Chalk was aware of everything, and he was excited to introduce the Beanish to King Cleave.

 _How to explain his nephew is over seventy years old and still a child, though…_ He thought, more amused than anything else. _Those Lora denizens certainly have a strange life cycle…_

But Fabula would cross that bridge when he got to it. All he wanted to do right now was make amends with Chalk and perhaps provide some closure for him.

He still felt really guilty that it was his fault the Beanish forgot so much, but… It looked like Chalk didn’t hold any ill will against him.

 

So maybe, just maybe, things would turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shear sounds like a lovely dear... A shame she's DEAD.  
> : ^ )
> 
> Next epilogue will be for Fabula and Estelle, and maaaayyy end up being a bit longer, I dunno! It's gonna talk more about Estelle and her family and all that fun stuff!!


	13. Epilogue 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next epilogue, wooo!! This one's for Fabula and Estelle, and answers a few questions... But also asks a few new ones :3c

* * *

 

Fabula hadn’t been doing so well since their adventure. Estelle could tell just by looking at him. 

His feathers were constantly a layer too thin, like he had been stress-plucking again. His voice was a bit tight at times when talking about everyday subjects. Sometimes when they were focusing on training, he would space out and forget what was going on.

But it was no surprise. Considering what he went through, this was even to be expected. Fabula, while a kind-hearted soul, was never one to handle stress too well. This was more stress than anything he had ever experienced, so reactions such as these were par for the course.

Estelle wasn’t even sure what the cause of this was. As far as she was aware, he had just started acting like this after they had reunited. Had being separated for so long really done this much damage to him?

 

What worried Estelle the most, however, out of all of these signs of trauma, were the nightmares. 

Every few nights, Estelle would be woken up by wailing from Fabula’s room. She was always too afraid to check on him, so she would end up sitting in bed for a few more hours, trying to get used to the sounds enough to go back to sleep.

She always asked him how he was doing the next morning, to which he would insist he was fine and then change the subject, but that hardly ever assured her. His hands kept shaking for the rest of the morning, and he looked absolutely exhausted.

Estelle wanted to do what she could to help, but before she could ever ask, Fabula had ushered her into another lesson.

 

“Estelle, do you know anything about your parents?” He suddenly asked one morning over breakfast. To Estelle’s relief, he sounded a bit more relaxed than usual. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to worry about him too much.

“Only that they were Masked Magicians.” She answered, giving a shrug. She had never really thought too much about who her real parents were. After all, they had abandoned her in this town when she was just a baby. All they left by means of care instructions was the mask she would one day wear. Why should she waste any time wondering about them if they clearly didn’t care about her?

“I don’t think they were just Masked Magicians.” Fabula replied, shaking his head a bit. “I think they were something else as well.”

“Something else?”

“You know how Chalk isn’t just Masked Magician, but part Beanish as well? I’m not even pure Masked Magician either--I’m also what is known as a Ketzalite.” Fabula continued, spreading a hand out. “It’s because of how Masked Magicians reproduce. Any species that can use magic can also become a Masked Magician.”

“I’m not sure I follow where you’re going with this.” Estelle admitted, sighing. 

“Ah, apologies,” Fabula chuckled. “What I’m trying to suggest is--I think I know what you are!”

At this, he pulled out a bright red book. As far as other books in the house went, it was pretty new--that is to say, it wasn’t crumbling and none of its pages were yellowed with age. Despite that, it still showed clear signs of wear in certain places.

“Admittedly, there’s… Not a whole lot on them.” Fabula mumbled, flipping through the pages. “But that’s because… Well, I’ll let you read for yourself.”

 

Once he had found the page he was looking for, he set the book on the table and slid it over to her. Estelle looked at it warily for a moment before bringing it closer and browsing it.

The writing was a bit shaky, but not too difficult to read. Estelle squinted as she realized it was a bit familiar--many books in the house’s library sported the same handwriting. Brushing that thought aside, however, she focused on the passage Fabula had indicated.

 

**_Dream Demons_ **

_ Previously believed to be a myth, the entirety of this species resides within the dimension known as Nox, which is closed to outsiders. They only ever leave the dimension to prey on the dreams and nightmares of others, which is their only form of sustenance. _

_ Dream Demon sightings are few and far between, as they prefer to do their business within the dream realm, but the few witness accounts there have been describe the same thing: Dark, shimmering skin, long claws, horns, and fangs, pure white eyes, and gaseous material forming hair and tails. _

 

Estelle blinked in silence once she was done reading, not really sure how to respond to this. The description certainly sounded like her, but…

“I don’t have a mouth, let alone fangs,” She started. “Nor do I have claws or a tail.”

“Er, true, but…” Fabula mumbled. “Given they have dream-based abilities and your powers have to do with sleep…”

“I don’t always need to eat, either.” She admitted, propping her elbows up on the table surface. It was strange--sometimes she could eat (so long as you didn’t question how she could without a visible mouth), and other times she didn’t have to. She could go months without eating anything, actually.

“There’s a lot to be taken from this,” Fabula continued, taking the book back. “It could help us understand your development and abilities a bit more.”

Ah, her abilities… It always sort of circled back to that in the end.

When Estelle lost her mask, she had been cut off from the strongest of her abilities--as all Masked Magicians are. When she got her mask back, said abilities were difficult to use, and seemed far weaker than before.

_ “It’s like a muscle,” _ Fabula had explained.  _ “If you don’t use your abilities for a while, they stagnate and get weaker. You were lost without your mask for… Well, over seventy years. It’s not surprising you’d have difficulties like this.” _

Whenever Estelle recalled that, a muscle in her face twitched. 

Her skills had barely improved when Fabula started teaching her. The most she had been able to do were puffs of the same sleeping mist she had used back in Lora--that, and dimension travel… Which is what caused them to get separated in the first place.

Now that they were getting back into the swing of things, there was no change whatsoever in what she could do. 

But she wasn’t surprised. Even with her mask, her magic was abysmal. It seemed that there was just a limit to what she could do, no matter how hard she tried.

It wasn’t fair.

 

“Estelle?” Fabula suddenly asked, breaking into her thoughts. 

“You were… Looking pretty grumpy. Everything alright?” He said in a cautious tone, his feathers twitching apprehensively. 

“It’s fine.” She assured him, shaking her head and doing her best to relax her face. 

Fabula continued to stare at her, however, not really sure if he should believe her. She tended to hide her problems from him, especially when they had first started out. He hoped she wasn’t falling back on bad habits.

Unable to withstand his forlorn look, Estelle heaved a large sigh and closed her eyes.

“Do you think it’s possible that my magic is bad… Because I’m part Dream Demon?”

If Fabula had an answer, he didn’t give it right away. He made a strange noise and looked away for a moment, hand placed on his mask as if he were biting his knuckle (not that that was really possible, giving the mouth on his mask never closed).

“We don’t know that.” He finally insisted. “It’s true that species can sometimes influence a Masked Magician’s powers, but… Usually it only goes as far as abilities, not strength. There’s not enough information on Dream Demons to really confirm or deny it.”

“But it’s still possible.” She shot back.

It was Fabula’s turn to sigh now. He looked at the ground as his feathers drooped a bit more, not really sure how to cheer her up.

“I’ll still practice,” She continued, suddenly regretting making him feel bad. “I just… I’m starting to think there’s barely in point in doing so. I didn’t have my mask for a long time, and then when I get it back, it’s damaged. Seems the universe just doesn’t want me learning magic.”

“Don’t say that!” Fabula insisted. He didn’t want to see his student beat herself up like this.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Her mood dipped again. “The signs are all there. The first memories I got back were of how people treated me when I was younger. I don’t even remember certain parts of my adventure with the Mario brothers, and you won’t tell me.”

“That’s--That’s for your own--”

“Who is ‘Dimentio?’ How did I get the scar on my stomach? What happened to you to give you so many nightmares?” She asked, getting up from her chair.

 

“ESTELLE, THAT’S ENOUGH!” Fabula suddenly shouted. 

Estelle stood in shock at her mentor’s raised voice, then looked down, seeming close to tears. Fabula had never raised his voice at her like this before.

Fabula seemed horrified at what he had done as well. His hands shook, and he desperately tried to find the right words.

“I--Estelle, I didn’t--It’s just--Please, I’m sorry--”

His student didn’t respond. 

“We’ve both been… On edge… Since we reunited.” He mumbled, shoulders sagging as he realized there wasn’t a lot he could do to console her. “Me with the nightmares, and you with your doubts… It’s only been a few weeks, after all.”

“Perhaps.” Was all Estelle replied.

“Maybe we need a longer break before we start things up again.” He finished, closing his eyes.

Estelle didn’t respond to him this time. She simply folded her arms and stared dejectedly at the ground. 

Not sure what else to suggest at this point, Fabula picked up the empty plates on the table and walked into the kitchen, deciding it was best to leave her be at the moment.

What he didn’t know, however, was that Estelle was actually getting an idea.

She looked to the book, which Fabula had left behind, and reached to open it again. Flipping back to the page on Dream Demons, she inhaled sharply upon rereading it.

**_They only ever leave the dimension to prey on the dreams and nightmares of others, which is their only form of sustenance._ **

She looked into the kitchen, where Fabula was cleaning the dishes. If she really was a Dream Demon, could she… ?

Would he appreciate it if she did, though, that was the question.

Closing the book and putting it back on the table, she walked to the door of the house.

“I’m stepping out for a bit.” She called.

“Just be back before nightfall.” Fabula said in response. 

That was what he always said whenever she left the house. Estelle couldn’t help but appreciate it--it made them feel a bit more like a family, something she knew Fabula had no obligation to do.

Allowing herself a bit of an unseen smile, Estelle stepped calmly out the door and then closed it behind her.

* * *

 

“Oh! Estelle, there you are!”

Estelle started a bit upon hearing the voice, but relaxed when she recognized who it was. 

Lyrica, one of the many Masked Magicians in the town, skipped over to Estelle, beaming a bit.

“I haven’t seen you since you came back!” Lyrica cried, rocking back and forth. “Fabula says you had a heck of an exhausting adventure, though, so I can see why.”

“Y-Yeah, it… It was a lost. Wandering for seventy years, then getting wrapped up in… Something.” Estelle replied, looking down. 

She still didn’t remember a good portion of the adventure she had with the Mario brothers. Certain details were still fresh as day, but other bits and pieces were muddy and hard to connect. Fabula had been… Working with somebody, right? And something had happened to Estelle to give her the scar on her stomach… 

But she just couldn’t remember.

 

“Oooooh,” Lyrica gasped, as if realizing. “Your mask got damaged when you lost it, huh? You probably can’t remember a lot of it!”

Estelle went quiet for a moment. The tone in Lyrica’s voice was… Familiar. Painfully familiar.

_ Condescending.  _

That was it.

“Y-Yeah, but Fabula won’t tell me what it is I can’t recall…” She admitted, deciding to duck her head on the matter for now.

“It’s probably for the best. Probably something very stressful, yanno? But hey, have you gotten any better at magic?”

There it was again. Now Estelle knew exactly why the tone was so familiar.

So many Magicians spoke to her in that tone when she was younger. When they believed she didn’t have any magic. When they passive-aggressively implied she wasn’t worth anything because of it.

“Ah, then again your mask is damaged…” Lyrica mumbled. “You might have an even harder time now, since--”

“Shut up.”

“Huh?”

Estelle fixed Lyrica with a steely gaze, her anger only seconds from spilling over.

“I said  _ shut up _ . I’m tired of you all treating me like less than trash because of my abilities. Be it from pity or plain old hatred, I don’t care. It’s horrible either way.” She snarled.

“Wh-what? N-No, Estelle, I--”

“JUST SHUT UP!” She was yelling now, not caring who else overheard. 

“YOU WANNA KNOW THE FIRST THING I REMEMBERED UPON GETTING MY MASK BACK? EVERYONE BABYING ME AND CALLING ME A  _ FREAK _ !”

“I never meant to--” Lyrica started, but lost her voice. After a moment of trembling, she decided it was just best to turn around and leave--quickly.

Estelle was trembling as well--not in fear, but in rage. She glanced around, realizing everyone else was staring at her. Good! They needed to see she was not a pushover!

What good was having her mask back if her powers didn’t improve? What good was it if most of her memories were of her years of wandering, or the town treating her like a bug? What was the point if her most recent memories--ones where she had actually had a bit of fun with two new friends--were mixed with periods of fog and confusion?

She was crying now. Just great. She held her head as it began to pound, her face growing hot. She started to sob, and could faintly hear people murmur various things--were they of concern or scorn? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“Estelle.” Came a gentle voice as hands rested on her shoulders.

 

It was Fabula. He crouched down so he was eye level with her, looking very concerned.

“I heard shouting--Are you alright?” He asked in a whisper.

“N-No, I--” She managed, but her voice caught in her throat. 

She didn’t need to say anything else. Fabula quickly scooped her up in his arms and hurried back to their home, doing his best to calm her down. He would explain things to the town later, if they wanted it. Right now, however, he needed to focus on Estelle.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was quiet for the two of them. 

Fabula did his best to help Estelle relax, but when she finally stopped crying, she was exhausted. Not really sure what else he could do to help her, Fabula allowed her to go to her room and rest.

Estelle fell asleep rather quickly, and luckily had a dreamless sleep. Fabula checked in on her every so often, but not once did she stir. Once the sun went down, he decided it was best to relax himself, and then retired to his own room.

 

It was a couple of hours after this that Estelle woke, surprised she had slept so long. Her room was dark, but she could see rather easily around it--something she supposed was also a Dream Demon trait.

She was about to consider going back to sleep when that terrifying sound drifted down the hall again--wails coming from Fabula’s room. He was having another nightmare.

Estelle gripped the sheets of her bed hesitantly. Earlier today she did have an idea that might help him, but… What if it didn’t work?

She didn’t want her mentor to keep suffering like this. She herself knew how terrible chronic nightmares could be. If she could do anything to alleviate them… Then she would do it.

Stepping out of bed and slowly opening the door to her room, Estelle started down the hallway to her mentor’s room.

As she reached for the handle, another wail sounded, making her flinch and hold her breath. From the other side of the door she could hear faint movement, possibly Fabula shifting about uncomfortably in bed.

Then there was a thump.

Wait, a thump? Had he fallen out of bed?

 

Spurred on by this concern, she opened the door, looking around the dim room.

Like the rest of the house, Fabula’s room was neat and tidy. The only form of disarray was his bed, where the sheets were messed up and piled where one would normally be lying.

Fabula, however, was not on his bed. Like Estelle had assumed, he was on the floor beside it, twitching wildly. His feathers were sky blue, indicating his distress--seems they even changed color when he was unconscious.

Estelle hurried over and kneeled beside him, careful not to make a sound. She didn’t want to startle him awake. 

He looked so helpless like this. Fabula, who had always gone out of his way to protect her and make sure she was safe--just like he had earlier that day--was now nothing but a whining mess on the floor.

As Estelle looked on, however, something else stirred within her. Some sort of strange instinct that she couldn’t quite explain, coupled by… Hunger? Why would she be hungry now, of all times?

But as she took one of her mentor’s hands, she blinked in surprise to see her own hand was glowing. The blue light surrounding it was faint, but not unnoticeable. 

Was this… Dream Demon magic?

As if to test this theory, she waved the glowing hand over her mentor’s face. A moment passed, and then a cloud of the same blue light appeared, tendrils slowly coming off of it and drifting towards Estelle’s hand.

This was… Very strange. But if it was how Dream Demons fed on dreams, maybe it would help Fabula. Perhaps if she consumed the nightmare, he wouldn’t be plagued by it for the rest of the night.

 

This seemed to be the case, as Fabula’s whimpers began to lessen, and his tremors faded. In a matter of minutes, he was completely relaxed and snoring softly.

Estelle, on the other hand, felt more energized--like she had just had breakfast, even. Did she just absorb Fabula’s nightmare?

She probably could have come to that conclusion a lot sooner, but she was simply so enthralled by the process, it wasn’t in the forefront of her mind. 

She was less enthralled, however, when she looked down at her hands for a second.

“WH-WHAT?!” She cried, forgetting to be quiet around the sleeping Fabula.

She had fingers--claws, to be specific. Before, her hands had just been little nubs, holding onto things with as much mystery as the rest of her anatomy. But now, three long claws formed the fingers of each hand.

 

“Hm? What’s--Estelle, what’s wrong? Wh-why--” 

Fabula had woken up at her shout, still a little groggy, but on the alert. 

“I--I wanted to try--I’m not even sure what I did, but-- … I have fingers now.” She mumbled, still staring in horror at her hands.

Her mentor paused, as if he wasn’t sure if he were still dreaming or not. He took a moment to pluck a feather from his wrist, hissing when the pain was indeed real, then looked at Estelle’s hands as well.

“Um… Well… What did you do to..” He managed, sitting up.

Estelle looked apologetically at him. Would he be upset at what she did?

“Can we talk in the sitting room?” She managed to ask.

* * *

 

About twenty minutes later, the two of them sat next to each other on the couch, each holding a mug of hot tea (Estelle had tried to decline, but Fabula insisted it would help with the nerves).

“I think you were right about me being part Dream Demon.” She began, staring into the dark brown liquid of her mug. It wasn’t too terribly hard to get the hang of using her new fingers, but she still set it on her knee just to be safe.

“How so?” He asked, sipping his own. 

Estelle always found his eating methods a little… Odd. She knew for a fact he had a face under the mask, and the mouth of said mask never closed, so… How did he manage it?

But that was a mystery for another day. Tonight, they were focusing on Estelle.

“The passage mentioned they subsist on nightmares and dreams. You were having another nightmare and had fallen out of bed, so… I wanted to see if I could do it.”

“Ah,” Fabula said. “That explains a bit…”

“It does?”

“From my perspective, I  _ was _ having a nightmare… But then suddenly, it stopped. It turned into a dreamless sleep.” He elaborated.

“So… It worked, then.” Estelle mumbled.

“I suppose so.”

“What about the fingers, though?” She asked, looking up at him.

 

“Hmm… I might have a theory.” He began. “I think it’s directly tied to Dream Demon development. You’ve never used your powers to actually… Do what Dream Demons do. So I guess gathering dream energy helped your body grow a bit. You might actually get that mouth and tail if you keep it up.”

Estelle supposed that made sense. But that still didn’t clear away her other concern.

“Are you upset that… I got rid of your nightmare?”

“Wha--Why would you ask that, Estelle?” He managed, freezing with the mug halfway to his face.

“Whenever I asked you how you were doing the morning after a nightmare, you insisted you were fine,” She began. “I thought that meant you just didn’t want to acknowledge them.”

Fabula sighed, then lowered his mug.

“I just didn’t want to make you worry, is all.” He admitted. “I’m stronger than I look, I can take a lot of things… And I see you as my daughter, so your well-being is my top priority.”

Wait, he saw her as… His daughter? 

In all their time together, Fabula had never once said anything like that to her. Having not known her real parents and having to endure the faintly veiled scorn of her foster parents, Fabula’s words actually warmed Estelle up more than any tea ever could. 

“Well I don’t like seeing you so rattled,” She said, leaning over to put her head against his side. “So do you think… If it happens again… I could get rid of it then, too?”

Fabula draped one of his arms around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“That… That actually would help a lot, Estelle. Thank you.”

The two sat in silence for a little while, taking quiet sips of their tea.

 

“Estelle, do you mind me asking you something?” Fabula asked after a bit, setting his empty mug on the coffee table in front of them.

“What?”

“I know you don’t appreciate how people treated you when you were younger… And I’m sorry you had to live through that growing up. But… Do you think you could try and look past those frustrations for a little while?”

She looked at him for a moment, then went back to staring into her tea, prompting Fabula to make an odd noise.

“I’m not asking you to forgive them, just to… Cut them some slack. Lots of them probably do regret treating you the way they did. But you yelling at them like you did earlier isn’t really going to help matters.”

“Weren’t you the one who said anyone who treats me that way is garbage?” She asked.

“I… I know I said that. But that’s because… I used to be one of those people.” He admitted.

This made Estelle’s eyes widen. What was Fabula getting at?

“I used to think I was better than others because my magic was strong for my age,” Fabula explained. “But it wasn’t until I made a mistake that I realized I was wrong, and then started to fix things. I think everyone else realized they were wrong when you got lost. So could you give them the chance to fix things?”

Estelle didn’t answer. She avoided his eyes, not really sure  _ how _ to answer. She desperately wanted to give them all the benefit of the doubt, but… What if they took advantage of that?

“It’s getting late,” Fabula sighed, realizing it probably wasn’t the best time to talk about this. “How about you finish your tea and go back to bed?”

But Estelle rose from the couch without taking the last few sips from her mug. She set it down on the table with an awkward clunk, then turned and walked out of the room, heading to her bedroom.

 

Fabula’s shoulders sagged when her door closed. He hoped she would think about it.

For now, however, he decided to shift his focus elsewhere.

He brought out the same red book from earlier in the morning, flicking through the pages until he arrived at the one on Dream Demons.

Taking a pen from the table, he carefully wrote down one new line under the information already there, in the same scratchy script.

 

_ Dream Demons seem to develop as they absorb dream energy--while this is a given for pure-blooded individuals, there is a distinct stagger if a hybrid does not make use of their abilities from an early age. _


	14. Epilogue 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's pretty short compared to the other two--also a lot less dialogue!!
> 
> I never want to draw books again............

* * *

 

 

“ _ Dammit… _ ” Dimentio hissed.

He clutched his side as he staggered his way forward, barely standing. The wound itself wasn’t serious--it barely broke the skin--but it in addition to all the damage he took while fused with Fabula, it was enough to make him struggle.

As he reached the top of the short set of stairs, he leaned against the door for a moment, trying his best to catch his breath. He had barely any energy left by this point--not even enough to teleport again.

But hopefully, he wouldn’t need to. After all, he had arrived at what he now called his ‘home.’

He hadn’t been here in years--not since before he joined forces with Count Blumiere, at least. But even then, it hadn’t always been his. 

The small, single-story house that looked rather out of place within the surrounding forest used to belong to a nice family.  _ Used to _ being the key words here. Dimentio had, of course, taken it for himself and shooed them out, and soon it didn’t look very much like a home anymore.

He pushed the door open and collapsed on the dusty wooden floor, coughing a bit. He would have to clean it later (not that that had ever been a priority). For now, all he could do was lay down, surrounded by dust, paper, and various old books.

 

The main room of the house was very large, almost taking up the entire floor plan. The kitchen was tucked away in the northwest corner, and attached to the eastern wall was a hallway that led to a few smaller rooms.

But considering that Dimentio viewed this place as a large study rather than a house, quite a few rooms rarely got any use. Even now, it was being seen as a last resort, taking lower priority than the dimension Fabula had found him in.

_ I suppose there’s a silver lining to this _ , he thought, shifting his head so he could look around for a bit. He could go back to the years of research that had accumulated here--perhaps come up with a new plan.

That would have to wait, though. 

For now, he had to rest. 

* * *

 

A few days passed, and Dimentio’s mood hadn’t improved. 

His wound still ached, and his eyes and nose were running from stirring up so much dust around the room. However, because the bleeding had stopped and he was too focused on something else, he pushed those problems to the back of his mind.

Why did he think cleaning and organizing everything was a good idea? Sure, it gave him something to do while he tried to get his strength back, but… He was jumping into almost decade-old notes. He could barely make sense of the hasty scribbling, let alone recall what train of thought he had been on when writing them down.

“ _ What in the honest… _ ” He mouthed, squinting at a rather yellowed sheet completely filled with frantic scrawling. He could just barely make out certain words, but the rest looked like nothing but zigzags.

It bothered him that he wasn’t able to read his writing, as well. When he got focused on something, his writing tended to become a blur, meaning if the notes were this indecipherable, it must have been something that really hooked his attention.

_ “ACHOO!” _

Eugh. Great. Now snot was all over the page.

 

Decided it was best to cut his losses, he crumpled the paper up and tossed it aside. It joined a small pile of similar papers that he had given up on deciphering, all of which waited to be reduced to ashes once he was done cleaning for the day.

But the next item in the pile made him pause, looking over it warily.

It was a notebook. That wasn’t too surprising, as it was one of several that were tucked away in various parts of the house. Dimentio was very meticulous in his notetaking, usually getting an entirely new one whenever he needed to cover a new subject.

This notebook, however, was old. Very old. It looked as if it had been around for decades.

Was it possible that it could have been from back then… ?

He picked it up cautiously, opening it and turning to the first page.

The pages were starting to crumble slightly, their yellowed edges sporting several small tears and even damage from bugs. The writing on the page was neat, making it much easier to read the header he had written several decades ago.

 

**_Tribe of the Ancients_ **

 

Ah. So it was indeed his childhood notebook.

Dimentio exhaled through his nose, not really caring that he was making a bit of a mess on his face. He wasn’t sure what to feel upon finding this old thing.

He had started this book shortly before he left home to travel and make sense of the world. His parents had adamantly refused to teach him about the Ancients, so he had decided to take matters in his own hands, writing down his findings so he could refer back to them whenever he pleased.

As he flipped through the book, various details came back to him--his theories regarding the Light Prognosticus as well as its counterpart, places to find more information on the lost tribe…

Even the fact that he was actually descended from the tribe.

When he had found that out, it had been quite a shock for him. Why would his parents refuse to tell him anything about it, if that were the case? Surely an order as prestigious as the Ancients was something to be proud of being related to?

Those questions hadn’t been answered for a long time… But at this point, he didn’t care. The plan he had formed from learning about the powers of the Chaos Heart had been foiled so easily, so looking at his earlier notes left a bitter taste in his mouth.

 

He was about to close the book when he noticed a strange scribbling.

 

**_Ancestors of the Ancients + ~~Strange birds~~ \--Ketzalites? Often associated with each other. After Amagla’al’s reign, this association began to fade from prominence._ **

 

_Amagla’al?_ Who the hell was that?

A simple turn of the page, and his question was answered.

“I see…” He murmured, smiling slightly for the first time since arriving in the decrepit house.

 

“Perhaps I’m not out of the running just yet…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems Dimentio's still up to something, even when he's licking his wounds...
> 
> \--------------
> 
>  
> 
> AAAND IT'S DONE!  
> Unmasked is finally done.  
> 50k words, 142 Google Doc pages, and a year and a half of work.
> 
> Man, this was... A lot of fun, honestly. I enjoyed this, because not only did I wanna show my love for the Mario series, it really helped me springboard into a bunch of stuff.
> 
> NOW! As you can probably guess, this is NOT the end of the tale... Oh no, this is merely the beginning.  
> But... I dunno when we'll move things along just yet. I wanna maybe perhaps take a break before diving into more, and then I have to decide if I want to continue Things are Getting Dicey or just move right along to Mistakes Were Made. We'll have to see.
> 
> ANYWHO, if you enjoyed this fic, I would definitely love to hear your thoughts! I'm fully aware it's not the best thing in the world, and admittedly the hiatus was a big blow to the quality as a whole, but ey! Not bad for a first, huh?
> 
> If you wanna see more of my stuff, go follow me on tumblr! I'm there everyday, and will respond to stuff quicker if you contact me there!
> 
> http://snow-ish.tumblr.com


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